


On Your Side

by TemplesarentTombs



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alex is a journalist, American politics because it's all I know, M/M, Thomas is a candidate for the republican nomination, and I probably won't get everything accurate, more political au, this is a fun au to write though so I'm still doing it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-09-23 15:43:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 34,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9663998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TemplesarentTombs/pseuds/TemplesarentTombs
Summary: Alex loved his job, he'd always been a political junkie. He'd also always been outspoken about his opinions and it went well with being a writer to spread those ideas. The campaign season was an exciting and fascinating time to be a journalist, but Alex was assigned to follow Thomas Jefferson and to report about him. It would be great if Alex believed in the man, but he didn't. As a matter of fact, he hated his guts.A Jamilton Modern Political AU





	1. Chapter1

Alex crossed his legs and flipped his thick notebook to a fresh page, leaning back against the airplane seat. He was just getting ready for Mr. Jefferson's twelve o'clock press conference and he was mentally preparing himself to deal with stupid policies that the republican party's presidential nominee candidate was sure to start spouting any minute. Alex couldn't stand the guy, but it was now his job to follow him around and report what he could to the news network he worked for.

Alex loved his job, he'd always been a political junkie. He'd also always been outspoken about his opinions and it went well with being a writer to spread those ideas. The campaign season was an exciting and fascinating time to be a journalist, but Alex was assigned to follow Thomas Jefferson and to report about him. It would be great if Alex believed in the man, but he didn't. As a matter of fact, he hated his guts. 

It was no secret that Alex was a liberal. He thought it was government's responsibility to do what it could for the citizens. He knew that Jefferson would not agree with him on that.

Alex wished the only reason he disliked Jefferson was for his opinions, but it was more than that. He hated the air of arrogance the man gave off. 

Speaking of, here he was. Thomas Jefferson sauntered out into the press's room on the plane, his hair bouncing. He was a tall man with dark skin and darker hair. He always wore a loud suit and big black glasses. His southern twang as he spoke did nothing to make him sound intelligent, but Alex hated to admit that he could see that Jefferson was smart. He was just on the wrong side of the aisle.

Mr. Jefferson stood behind the podium with his campaign manager, a short man called James Madison, hovering behind him. Suddenly every journalist stood up and a clash of questions arose in the air, allowing Jefferson to tap into one, the question that was usually the loudest.

The candidate pointed to a reporter in the first row.

“Mr. Jefferson, there were rumors that you weren't preparing for the upcoming debate. It's said that you don't think your opponent has a chance. Is this true? Don't you think it would be the smarter choice to practice and ensure that you come across the way you'd like to on Tuesday?” 

Jefferson cleared his throat, “I'm not sure where you heard that, but I can assure you that I'm taking every measure I can to be as prepared as possible for Tuesday. I am not underestimating Aaron Burr. He's a very convincing and persuading character.”

Alex thought his answer was bull crap of course. He himself had heard him say that he wasn't going to prepare for the debate. On the subject of Burr, Alex couldn't say. The man seemed more likable than Jefferson, but something about him was off. It was obvious Jefferson wasn't a fan of Burr. His face showed visible disgust at saying his name even. The two were a part of the same party, so there had to be some sort of bad blood there. Alex just wasn't sure.

Now though Alex had to try and yell louder than his fellow reporters. He was pretty sure that by now, Jefferson had an idea and impression of who each of the reporters in his press corp was. Alex was sure that the impression that he gave Jefferson was a negative one. At least the contempt was mutual.

Hopping on his feet and shouting, Jefferson couldn't ignore Alex.

“Yeah, Hamilton,” he sighed.

“So what's the truth? Are you telling the American people what they want to hear? You won't stand a chance if you don't practice debate.”

“I get enough practice sparring with you all,” Jefferson scoffed, “But I don't plan on winging it. This isn't my first rodeo.”

He moved on to the next question, this time coming from Hamilton's friend and colleague John Laurens.

“You're aware that Burr will be asking about the alleged affair that you had with a married woman, a woman who worked for you no less?”

Leave it to Laurens to get right to the heart of the matter.

“Of course I'm expecting that, and I have no worries about defending myself on that issue.”

Alex could see that the questions relating to the affair always rattled Jefferson. It was all in his body language, the way his jaw clenched and brows furrowed. If Alex were Burr, he'd go straight into that issue at the first possible opportunity on Tuesday. It would knock Jefferson off his game. 

“You'll have to put that issue to bed or people will be too busy discussing it instead of your policies,” Laurens reminded. 

“I'm well aware of that. I'm looking forward to a debate that is full of substance and not unfounded accusations. Thank you,” He waved and slid back to his room on the plane. He didn't answer as many questions today and Alex thought he seemed uncomfortable, more so than usual today. 

It was strange because traveling with a candidate didn't make Alex disagree with him any more but he did think he felt the tiniest bit of sympathy for Jefferson. His wife died years ago and he'd promised her that he wouldn't remarry. That had to be hard for him. 

'Feeling bad for him, doesn't mean I like him at all', Alex reminded himself. You couldn't obsess over someone's every move without getting a little attached.

'Not attached like attached attached but attached like...like a respect. Kinda. Oh I don't even', Alex shut down that train of thought. He knew what he meant, but for once he couldn't set it up in normal words. 

Alex sat back in his reclining chair and pulled out his notebook again. He set to writing notes about today's press conference. He'd have an interview about what was discussed there later today after the plane touched down. They were going to land in Iowa for Jefferson's next town hall.


	2. Chapter deux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm updating WOOOOOOOO.
> 
> Honestly, I was at my sister's all day bowling tournament Sunday. I literally couldn't see past the people in front of me for half of it, so I was able to daydream for a while about this fic! That's probably the reason I was able to write this chapter.

Jefferson let out a groan that he had been repressing for the past ten minutes and just about collapsed into the chair in his room on the plane. That was one of the perks of being the candidate. He had his own room where he could get away from everyone. Everyone except for Madison, unfortunately. Not that he didn't like his campaign manager's company, that was far from the truth. James was probably his truest friend in actuality. But that didn't mean that he wanted to be with him now. He wanted time to blow off some steam, and James would just be on him about the debate.

Just as he assumed, Madison came into his room with papers flying, “They're right Thomas, you know they are. I'm going to find someone to help us set up a mock debate for you to practice with. It can't be me, I'm not sure who. I'll find someone though. Just give me some time, I'll make some calls.”

Thomas blinked, “Slow down, sit down, take a break,” he sighed.

“I can't believe you sometimes Thomas. You won't even help yourself!”

“I literally just finished speaking to the press, and you know how that exhausts me.”

James scoffed, “Do you think being president is easier?”

“Well no, but I'm not president am I?”

James gathered his papers and grabbed his phone. He shook his head before opening the door to an adjoining room. Before he left, Madison turned around and addressed Jefferson, “I'm making some calls.”

“Fine. I'll be here.”

~~

Alex set his laptop onto his hotel room's desk with clang. His thoughts were stirring and he had no choice but to pull up a word document and type until he was too tired to continue. It was already 11:30 at night, but he knew it would be a couple hours at least. Alex didn't mind though, he could use a few hours alone for a bit. He'd been so busy lately on the road that Holiday Inn's were like home to him. 

After another hour, Alex's phone buzzed obnoxiously on his desktop. He quickly flipped it over to see the number. It was his other night owl friend, Angelica. She too was a journalist and political pundit, but Alex hadn't seen her for a few months. She had been busy on the road reporting on Aaron Burr. 

“Yo, what's up Angelica?” He promptly answered his mobile. In his other hand he bounced a pen up and down.

“Alexander, I thought you'd be up at this hour,” Alex could hear the smile behind her words.

“I'm just-”

“Writing,” They said together and Alex laughed.

“Yup. As usual. How's the campaign trail with sir Burr?”

Alex heard Angelica's audible groan from his side of the phone.

“That's the problem Alex. He's the worst. And before you interrupt me, like I know you're dying to, he actually is worse than Jefferson.”

“That's hard to believe. From what I've seen of Burr, he's likable and relatable.”

“True, but that just makes it worse. People are liking him for his personality, the personality he puts on when he speaks in public. He flip flops on every issue except for the ones where his ideas are just awful and bigoted. The way he treats women like they ought to be in the kitchen...I can't stand him.”

“Okay, and how's he worse than Jefferson?” Alex challenged.

“At least Jefferson's ideas are more moderate. Look at it this way, there's no way in Hell that John Adams will get a second term. The democrats have no chance, just look at the polls. It's going to be a republican and we can survive Jefferson's term. Burr on the other hand, just no.”

“Honestly,” Alex started, “I don't like any of the three. You do have a point though, about the democrats not having a chance. I don't think you have the same first hand knowledge of Jefferson that I do.”

“And you don't have the first hand knowledge of Burr that I do.”

“Touche. Hypothetically, what can we do though?”

“Anything you can to clear up Jefferson's negative image right now. The news is painting him as some womanizer. Maybe you can get the real scoop on that?”

Alex spun in his computer chair, “And what if the scoop is bad?”

“We're journalists, we have to report the truth. But there is a chance that the truth isn't as bad as the media is making it out to look. Just...keep this all in mind, alright?”

“Yeah, alright.”

“Good. I know it doesn't seem like it, but I do need some beauty sleep. I'd suggest you get some too.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Alex laughed.

“Take it for what it's worth. Night.”

“Night,” Alex said, pressing the hang up button and leaning back in his chair. What Angelica told him was troubling, but there was truth to it. It wasn't even two yet, he could do some research on Aaron Burr and see if he could understand what Angelica meant.

~~

Alex woke to the feeling of raised computer keys under his cheeks and drool dried on his lips. It happened again, he woke up on his laptop after falling asleep typing away. It was becoming a bad habit, but he was in too much of a rush lately. He turned his phone on and checked the clock. It was 8:27 in the morning. That left him a little more than half an hour to shower, get dressed, and maybe eat something before arriving at the local community college where Thomas Jefferson was scheduled to host a rally for his supporters. 

~~

Behind the scenes at the college, James was hustling around. He had spent a while thinking last night after Jefferson had dismissed him. He knew that Jefferson needed a debating partner who would hold no punches back. Someone who Jefferson disliked just as much as he disliked Burr. But who?

That's when it hit him. Thomas had complained about the press exhausting him, making them the perfect sparring partner for the candidate. He knew better than to get Thomas' permission though, so he was looking for the press himself. 

A group of them were congregating in the first row in front of the podium. James sized them up in his head, trying to remember the ways that Thomas dealt with them each. When he reached Alexander Hamilton, he knew that that was exactly who he had to ask. The only problem was that Hamilton hated Thomas probably just as much as Thomas hated Hamilton. 

Oh well, it was worth a shot.

James squeezed past the crowd starting to gather, his small frame swerving in between people easier than most might. When he got to Hamilton, he had to clear his throat multiple times before he could get the reporter's attention away from his phone. 

“Hello there Mr. Madison,” Alex started. He looked a little confused, an unusual look for him.

“Alex, would you mind if I could speak with you somewhere privately?”

“Okay, sure. Um, what's this about? There a problem?” Alex questioned, following Madison back behind the stage.

“No problem, I just need a favor.”

“You do know how that would look. I'm supposed to be neutral. That's how journalism typically works.”

James tapped his pen on his clipboard, “This favor isn't necessarily helping Thomas. It's something all campaigns do really.”

“Not necessarily?”

Okay, he would just come right out and ask, “I'm looking for someone to be a stand in for Thomas' debate practice. I have a feeling you would be great for that. It would give you a chance to scream at him with permission even,” James added that bit in at the end, hoping it could help his cause.

Alex looked to be considering it, his hand even under his chin, “I'm going to need to think about it. I'll call you later about it. That sounds appealing actually.”

Now James felt hopeful. This might work out after all, “Well give it some thought. If I don't hear from you soon, I'll have to call some other people.”

“Don't do that just yet,” And with that last thought, James was almost positive that he was able to get the perfect man for the job to accept. Now all he had to worry about was breaking it to Thomas...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was fun to write. Thanks for reading everyone!


	3. Chapter 3

“You asked HAMILTON?!” Jefferson couldn't believe it. How would practicing debate with Alexander Hamilton, of all people, help him to come across well in the Tuesday debate? All it would do is frustrate him really. He couldn't see James' logic here.

“I did. It took some pressing, but he has agreed to debate you,” James replied, folding his hands behind his back.

Jefferson could only shake his head and take a huge, stabilizing breath in, “And you think that's a GOOD thing?”

“Yes,” His campaign manager started simply, as if it really so simple, “Think of it this way Thomas, you don't like Burr. You don't like Hamilton either. It'll be as close to the real debate as we could get! It's also a great excuse for you to fight with him, which I'm pretty sure you enjoy,” James smiled, like he was trying to encourage Thomas to be okay with this. It wasn't working.

Thomas could see where James was coming from, but he still didn't like it. 

James interrupted his thinking, “Consider this, he helps for the first day of practice. If it doesn't go well, then we'll scrap Hamilton too.”

Jefferson stroked his chin in an over dramatic way, “okay, but he won't last longer than a day.”

“You might be surprised.”

Crossing his arms, Jefferson scoffed, “I'm hard to surprise.”

His colleague just took a sip of his water wordlessly. 

~~

At this point Alex wasn't sure if he had made a horrible choice or a good one. Angelica had told him that anything he could do to prevent Burr from getting the nomination was a positive, and the conflicting statements Burr was giving were troubling to Alex. But It would still be difficult for Burr to be lower on the likability chart than Jefferson was, however, stranger things had happened. Plus he did love a good debate, preferably when he could prove his opponent wrong.

He had been a part of his college's debate team and he remembered those days fondly. There were times when things would get heated though and his debate coach had to make him go home more than once. 

Well, no one had ever accused him of being indecisive, that's for sure.

Now he was sitting in the auditorium of the same college that Jefferson had given his rally at the day before. Alex was sitting in the lower part of the theater's red seats, right in front of the stage. The worry that this could be some kind of prank did cross his mind until he saw the paisley patterned curtains ruffle and two men carry a podium out and set it down facing diagonal. 

After another podium was brought out, Alex spotted James with his usual clipboard in his arms, like the clipboard was an extension of his own arm. Hamilton hopped up and waved to James.  
The other saw him too and they met on the stairs to the stage.

“You showed up. Good,” James nodded. “Thomas is sulking in the wings, maybe you can drag him out here and to his podium,” he pointed to the stage with his pen.

“I might be taller than you, but I'm still shorter than Jefferson. I probably couldn't drag him out here if I wanted to.”

Jefferson's echoing voice sounded from behind the curtain, like a grumpy wizard of Oz, “I'm coming, I'm coming!” 

He stomped out to James and Alex and stood up straight, “I'm here, happy?”

“Very,” Alex said sarcastically, “When do we get to the point where I prove you wrong and you hide away, ashamed?” 

“Excuse me?! I think you have that mixed up!” Jefferson countered, hands balling into fists at his sides.

“Oh, do you now? I knew your judgment was crap, now you're just proving my point!” And Alex took a step closer to Thomas, managing to provoke him even more.

James stepped in between the two and pushed them away from one another before things could get any worse, “Please, leave this for the debate. Just be civil now.”

“Easier said than done,” Thomas muttered under his breath. Alex had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying anything back.

“This might be a tough day,” James thought out loud to no one in particular. 

~~

James had thought it would help to break the ice with lunch, but things weren't getting any better. At the diner they were eating at, James sat in the middle chair at the counter with Alex and Thomas on either side of him. 

“So,” James awkwardly filled the silence and took a bite of his patty melt, “It's nice to take a little break every so often. We've been so busy, right Thomas?”

“Yeah,” Thomas said, not adding anything else.

“I've been everywhere you guys have, you know,” Alex said, guzzling a black coffee down, “That's sort of been my job as of late.”

“True, I hadn't considered that,” James said, his sentence falling flat as he scrambled to bring something else up in conversation. 

“It's exhausting. I hardly sleep,” Alex actually laughed. This wasn't even controversial, yet it set Thomas off again.

“As in you literally don't sleep?” Thomas asked.

“Some nights I get like three hours!”

“That's hardly enough!”

“It's better than nothing!”

James almost resorted to covering his ears with his hands. Almost.

At that point, the television above the counter switched from a commercial, to the news channel that Alex worked for. They were televising an interview that Aaron Burr gave to the news anchor Sam Seabury.

“Would you consider yourself a feminist Mr. Burr?” 

Burr just laughed and gave the most infuriating answer that Alex thought could be conjured up, “Sam, I've never liked that phrase. To me, it's all about women being above men. I was raised with the values that the man provided for his family, and the woman took care of the kids. Now I know that families today are different, but that's ideal to me.”

“But do you think that women and men are equals?”

Alex, James, and Thomas watched the screen where Burr sat with the Nation's capitol looming behind him. 

“Intellectually, sure. Physically, no.”

“What do you mean by that? How do you plan to get women to vote for you?” Sam didn't seem to be as troubled by the answers as the three did sitting in their round diner chairs.

Burr's face scrunched up, then he relaxed again, “You might be surprised to hear that there are many women out there who would agree with me.”

Alex's phone buzzed and he spared a glance to the screen. It was Angelica and the text read, “Turn the news on. Ding dong is at it again.”

“Already watching. He's awful,” Alex typed quickly back, then set his phone down on the counter again.

“That actually would surprise me, but you're out on the ground campaigning. You probably do know these things Mr. Burr. It was good to have you on the show today.”

“Thank you Sam. It's good to be on.”

Alex was opening his mouth to say something, but Jefferson got there first, “He is really some special kind of stupid.” 

“Agreed,” James nodded.  
“Wait,” Alex turned to them both, “You don't agree with him?”

Jefferson scowled, “Do I really look like that much of a sexist asshole? Not all republicans are like that, Alexander, you should have learned that by now. I don't like Burr, and I never have.”

“Oh,” Alex had just assumed that would be a Jefferson-like position to take. Apparently he had jumped to conclusions without actually knowing the truth, “I don't like him either.”

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to clarify that somewhere I heard that the real Aaron Burr, back in the day, actually was pretty progressive when it came to his views about women. Don't quote me on that, but that's what I heard.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is short because I already have what I want to do for the next one planned, but I didn't want it to be part of this chapter. But, hey two chapters posted in a day! Not bad.

The next day, Jefferson and Hamilton stood behind their respective podiums. James sat at a table below the stage with various questions written on cards. He'd play the part of mediator.

James finished shuffling them around, “Okay, I'm going to start with the first question for Thomas,” He turned to Thomas, “Immigration reform has been a hot topic lately. What are your immigration policies?”

Thomas cleared his throat, “You can't be a country if you don't have borders, and I think that America needs to do a better job of controlling our borders. We need the people who live here, to live here legally. You can't just cross that line and become an American citizen. There is protocol and a system that you just have to go through. You have no right to be here if you don't come through the right way.”

James turned once again, though to Alex this time, “Alex, your thoughts?”

“As an immigrant myself, I don't think we give immigrants enough credit! It's a hard situation and I think our current system is too long and tedious.”

“But that IS the system,” Thomas interrupted, staring down Alex, “We have to enforce the system we have now UNTIL it can be changed.”

“I am saying that I WOULD change it,” Alex countered, watching Jefferson fume just a couple yards away from him, “You should want to be president to change things for the better, not just settle for how they are now.”

“That IS why I want to be president, but we've done the border a certain way for a while. There has to be a very important reason to change it.”

“Why would there be so many illegal immigrants if the system was working? It's NOT working,” Hamilton's voice was getting squeaky now and Jefferson had to suppress a smile. 

“And why is it that it's not working for those people? Because they simply don't feel like going through the system because it's difficult. We shouldn't let just anybody in our country, the way in shouldn't be easy.”

Curse Thomas' kitten like grin and expressions, it was throwing Alex off his game. No, it had to just be that he was rusty when it came to this. It had been a few years since he had been in a debate with a trained and seasoned debater like Jefferson.

That made the most sense to Alex. He'd go with that conclusion.

~~

The debate only got more heated as more and more questions were asked. But afterwards Alex didn't feel tired, he felt exuberant. He had forgotten how much he loved the back and forth, the arguments, and the way that he could express his opinion and try to convince an audience(even if he didn't have an audience. The imaginary audience took his side every time, he thought). It felt so /good/. 

It surprised him how much fun it was to debate against Jefferson too. He imagined it was like when a dancer found a partner that they were perfectly in sync with . Every step felt right, and you didn't have that partner who was one step behind, or who got flustered. It was step for step, toe for toe. Alex loved it. You couldn't debate someone you always agreed with, so Jefferson was perfect for it. 

~~

Thomas and James were both siting in the living room area of Thomas' hotel room. Neither had said a word, but James was wearing an especially smug smile.

“Did you find another funny meme or what?” Jefferson asked.

James set his phone down, “You know.”

“Know what?” 

“Today went well, it's helping you, and Alex is coming back tomorrow. Just as I thought.”

“Actually,” Thomas paused, “You were right. I think it might be helping me get prepared. It probably could have been anyone, but Hamilton is as good to debate with as any,” he shrugged.

“He's really good. Burr will be easy compared to Alex.”

“Burr certainly seems to have less Brain capacity than Alex, I'll give them that.”

Madison took a look at the time and stood up, urging Thomas to do the same, “We fly to St. Louis tomorrow, best get our things around. I'll see you later Thomas.”

“Yeah, alright. See you tomorrow,” Jefferson said, looking out his window at the different planes flying by. They were set to practice more debate on the plane tomorrow and Jefferson tried ignoring the tiny part of him that was looking forward to it.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Don't expect another update for a few days. I don't really know how I've written this one so fast, Maybe it was just stuck in my head. Enjoy anyway!

With the television's volume up and his laptop and eyes wide open, Alex sat on the hotel bed and scrolled twitter mindlessly. He was too awake to sleep and too sleepy to write, so he was stuck in a limbo. 

He sat back and watched commercials, most of which were about apparently dangerous medications. After the last side affect was listed, the news came back on.

It was one of Alex's favorite news anchors, Eliza Schuyler. She did the eleven o'clock show. 

“This just in, we have just gotten word that Sally Hemings will be doing an interview next Wednesday on NBC. The interview will almost certainly be regarding the alleged affair with presidential candidate Thomas Jefferson. That will be must-see TV and it begs the question, how will an impending TV interview the day after the first republican presidential debate effect Jefferson? Burr supporters will have their fingers crossed that it throws him off Tuesday night.”

Alex groaned and leaned his head back against the headboard. The Hemings question hadn't been one that they'd practiced earlier, and it was going to be the only question the media would care about. Any policy would be kicked aside for the scandal question. This put Jefferson in a terrible position, Alex knew that. 

His phone buzzed again and it was Angelica. Alex picked it up, hoping it could be a nice distraction, “Hey.”

“Alex, you've made a mistake,” her voice sounded grave and disappointed. Alex didn't know what he'd done, but it wasn't on purpose.

“Tell me what's new,” Alex blew it off. 

“You're Jefferson's STAND IN, for his debate preparation?”

“Yeah, as I recall YOU were the one telling me I should help him whenever I could. It's not because I'm dying to hang around the guy. What's the big deal about it?”

“That's a huge conflict of interest. You like your job right? You can't be unbiased and report about him now, not when you're basically a part of the campaign team. You will be fired if you don't quit working with him. Hell, you might be fired anyway!”

So much for a pleasant distraction.

“Slow down, I'll talk to Washington. You know he likes me, he'll cut me some slack,” Alex assured.

“He does like you, but he's very professional and he cares about this business. Washington does not let these things fly.”

“It's Friday, there's only a few days until the debate. After that, I'll be back on the job like usual. No sweat.”  
“I'm just trying to warn you, but if you think it'll be fine then...I don't know, this is your problem Alexander.”

Alex closed his laptop and crossed his feet at the ankle, “I have a lot of problems Angelica, this probably doesn't make the top three.”

He could practically hear her shake her head through the phone, “Just don't do anything stupid Alexander. Please.”

“I won't do anything you wouldn't do. Swear it.”

“Okay, well I'm going to get to bed. Night.”

“Night.”

Alex clicked his phone to hang up. As he laid back on his bed, his mind raced and tried to pinpoint where it should even start its spiraling worrying.

~~

 

Jefferson, his team, and the media were on their way to St Louis for a town hall. Thomas didn't feel remotely ready for it, not after last night's announcement. He didn't even have James to vent to, as James was doing interviews this morning with various news outlets, assuring people that his candidate knew what he was doing. Not that Thomas actually did, but that was besides the point. His confidence was slowly crumbling, and being alone in the back of an airplane with only his thoughts, didn't help. 

He sighed and watched the world fly by out the window. 

To his left, Thomas heard the door open. He whipped around and saw it was Hamilton, strutting in like he'd always been allowed to. Jefferson didn't even have the energy to scold him. At least he wasn't alone now.

Alex sat down next to him. Jefferson could see how exhausted Alex looked and he was sure it mirrored his own face in the way of under eye circles. Thomas just wasn't sure if he and Alex had lost sleep over the same things.

“I take it you heard about the interview?” Alex asked.

It surprised Thomas to hear Alex ask him like he actually cared about the country's opinion of Thomas. 

“Yeah, couldn't have missed that,” He crossed his arms and looked back out the window, avoiding Alex's penetrating gaze.

“We hadn't really gotten into that issue yesterday. How long ago did that affair happen?” Alex pressed.

Thomas remembered his relationship with Sally like it was yesterday, even though it was far longer ago than that, “Five years ago.”

“Did you take advantage of her?”

Thomas looked at Alex and scowled, “No. That was never my intent. Yes, she worked for me. Yes, she was married. But I didn't make her do anything that she didn't want to do.”

“She could see it differently. Did you love her?” 

Alex looked abashed, but he didn't take the question back. Thomas didn't know why he was answering Alex, of all people, like this but it was good to get it out. 

“No. I didn't love her. It had been two years since Martha died and I was lonely. I didn't talk to anyone outside my circle and so she was just kind of there for me. We crossed a line.”

“That's tough,” Alex consoled, not really making Thomas feel better. He didn't feel alone now though, and now James and Alex knew the story. But Alex and him weren't on the same side, Thomas was starting to forget that. 

Alex prompted another question, “She must have been unhappy in her marriage then?”

“Her husband had grown distant. We were both just lonely, that's all.”

Neither said anything for a moment, the words just being processed. Thomas looked down at his hands, still feeling upset with himself. 

Alex grabbed his wrists, startling Thomas into looking up at Alex with his eyes wide, “That's it! All you can do is tell the truth, you can't let the interview ruin your debate and confidence. Just own what happened. It's been a big deal because you haven't been open about it Thomas. Now you have James out there giving interviews instead of you. If you would give them and speak with the press, then you could put this to rest. You need to move on from it.”

Alex was being as sincere as Thomas had ever seen him, it was feeling overwhelming but he had to admit that Alex was right. Things felt lighter and maybe there was a way out of this hole he'd dug himself into. Thomas really owed Alex for his insight and listening ear. 

~~

After the landing in St. Louis, Alex sat in the crowd at the rally that Thomas was hosting. Crowds were already forming. At least it didn't look like a smaller amount of people here, like Alex had feared would happen with the Hemings story being circulated. He was set to give an interview to Seabury's show today after the rally, and Alex was looking forward to reporting again. 

He felt better about Thomas's chances with clearing up the Hemings scandal. There would be people who couldn't get past it, but Alex thought that they had a good plan to get through it and to stop playing defense against Burr. They needed to play offense. 

Alex's phone started playing the annoying default ring that he'd set it on for the loud rally. He assumed it would be Angelica or John Laurens, but he was wrong. It was George Washington, his boss. After the conversation he had with Angelica about the frailty of his job, Alex was afraid to pick it up. It was still his boss, however, and he had to answer it.  
“Hello,” Alex answered, sliding his way to the back of the venue. He had to find somewhere quieter. 

“Alex, hi,” okay, he didn't sound too pleased. But he also didn't sound angry.

“Mr. Washington, how goes things?” The last thing Alex wanted to do was disappoint Mr. Washington. He was like a father figure to Alex after hiring him right out of college. He saw something in Alex that no one else had. 

“I hate to do this over the phone Alex, but I won't be seeing you for a while to speak face-to-face. Your connection with the Jefferson Campaign,” Washington sighed, “it's troubling. I'm going to have to let you go.”

“I can quit being a stand-in! I can break away from his campaign, I don't owe him anything. Please, Mr. Washington. I'd do anything.” 

“I'm sorry Alex, but the damage is already done. You'll be able to make it, I know you will. You're a very resourceful and brilliant young man. 

Despite the compliments, Alex's heart sank. It wasn't a huge shock, but it still hurt. This was his livelihood, his passion. He would be able to find another way, but now he was floating without a place to swim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Abrupt ending, but I felt like it was getting long. Thanks for reading!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what I did instead of graphing logarithmic functions for my homework? I wrote this chapter.

Alex couldn't help the tears that brimmed out of his eyes and down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly and cleared his throat, desperate to sound and look unaffected. At the end of the call, Washington had wished him the best of luck in his, “future endeavors,” but it only hurt to hear that from him. 

Gathering what little dignity he felt he had, Alex folded his arms around his notebooks and microphone, and made to leave. 

The rally was about to start so the crowd was getting even larger and tougher to maneuver around, but Alex was in a mood where he really didn't care. He just wanted to get back to his hotel room and be by himself awhile. 

His friend John Laurens grabbed his shoulder, before he could retreat “Hey Alex, are you okay? Why are you leaving? It's about to start!”

“I have to go,” Alex stated, not willing to say anything more, lest he breakdown. 

“Emergency?” John asked, almost as though he were trying to give Alex an excuse.

Alex took it, “Yeah, something like that. I'll text you later. I'll be fine.”

“Okay...Just text me when you can, alright? Take care of yourself Alex.”

He managed to get to his hotel room without crying.

~~

Jefferson enjoyed hosting campaign rallies, everyone there was a supporter usually. It was nice to look out and see a group that was still backing you and holding onto your every word. He imagined it wasn't unlike being a rock star...in some nerdy and more intellectual way. 

But he did notice, to his disappointment, that Alexander Hamilton was not with the press corps today. Usually Thomas noticed Alex in the first row, scowling and probably silently rewriting Jefferson's words to something he'd like to hear. Not that he wanted to be judged and scrutinized by him, he did find it odd and unsettling. If Alexander was missing work, then something was wrong. He wouldn't admit it, but it did distract him. 

After he spoke, he went backstage to where James and his Missouri ground team were getting out buttons, books, and yard signs to set up for people. 

“James,” Thomas got his campaign manager's attention.

“Yes?” James heaved, lifting a heavy cardboard box of books that someone that short probably ought to have help with. Thomas grabbed one end of it.

“Where's Hamilton?” Thomas insisted, helping steady the box for his friend.

“He's not with the press corps?”

“No.”

“I wouldn't worry about it. I'll ask him to stand in again tomorrow. We're on the brink of a breakthrough I think.”

They set the box down, “You don't think it's strange?”

“That he wasn't there? Nah, it's Alex, he'll turn up.”

Thomas peeked back out at the dispersing crowd, “Yeah, I'm just overreacting, probably.”

~~

A few hours later, Thomas got a knock on his hotel door. He stood up and saw James again through the peephole, “Yeah, come on in.”

“There a problem?” Thomas asked. He'd just picked up a book and had accepted that things were all well and dandy, when James had to come and ruin the peace. 

“Alex has been fired. It's all online,” he pulled up an article on his phone and handed it to a disbelieving Jefferson.

“I'll be damned. I knew something was up,” Thomas played it cool, even though a pool of guilt and pity settled in his gut. 

Madison took a seat on the coach and nodded, “I feel awful Thomas. It's all our fault, don't you see? He doesn't have family to go home to. He's been able to climb up the ladder and we practically knocked him /off/ that hypothetical ladder!”

Thomas had to agree, and that only made him feel worse.

“We still need him,” Thomas abruptly said, “He's useful and we owe him.” I owe him, he thought but didn't say, “I need a campaign spokesperson anyway, we should just hire him. He should know how to handle the media.”

“Thomas,” Madison started, shaking his head as though Jefferson had mused on whether they should all dye their hair pink or something just as uncharacteristic, “Alex is a democrat. A far left democrat. He will not be able to defend any of your views on TV.” 

The other just shrugged and crossed his arms, “If he wants to employed, then he'll figure it out.”

“I'm conflicted because you're offering something nice, but saying it rudely?” 

Thomas shrugged again, “I'm a dichotomy.”

James stood up then and despite his suspicious look, he told his friend, “You're the one calling the shots so if you want to offer it, then that's your choice. I think it will do more harm than good to us in the long run.”

Staring out his window at the flat fields of corn, Thomas pondered what James said as he left. In the end, he decided that he had nothing to lose by offering Hamilton the job of Spokesman. 

~~

He was a small story on the news with all that was going on, but his being fired was mentioned. The phrase, “conflict of interest,” “disappointing,” and “Shocking,” were all used.

Alex wasn't feeling as bad as he had when he first heard it. Of course he didn't feel anywhere close to good, it was too early for that.

He did have to ignore several calls from Angelica though. All she would do is scold him and give him the old, “I told you so,” speech. 

Even though he literally had no where to go, he did feel kind of free. He'd need to get a job again somehow. He could send his resume in online to some jobs posted on the internet. Alex had gotten this far on his own, this was just a set back or a detour on his way to his destination. He had been through worse.

When he heard his phone buzz, it was Alex's first reaction to ignore it. He glanced over to see that it wasn't a number he recognized. He went back and forth in his mind on whether he should answer it or not, but something in him told him he should. 

“Hello?” Alex answered quietly.

“Alexander? It's Jefferson.”

There was no mistaking his voice, “How'd you even get my number?” 

He could hear Jefferson sigh in frustration, which was somehow comforting because it was so familiar, “James gave it to me. Anyway, I heard about what happened and...I feel partly responsible.”

Alex actually hadn't had time to consider how it could have been partly James' and Thomas' fault. He thought about it now, and though he wouldn't have been fired if they hadn't asked him, it was still his choice. Alex could have thought it through and said no.

“I don't blame you Thomas, it's fine.”

“That's...good. I never meant for you to lose your job. But um,” he paused awkwardly, “I had a question. You must be looking for another job?”

“I am,” Alex answered, wondering where this was going.

“I don't know if you'd even want to, but I could use a spokesperson. James has been swamped with managing this all and going on a lot of the daily news shows. You could actually be useful. We still need you.”

Is this where his life had come to? The Jefferson Campaign was asking for Alexander Hamilton's help? 

It wasn't a joke either, it was sincere. Everyone wanted to feel needed and Alex was no exception. He, in turn, needed a job and somewhere to go. He could continue to follow the campaign, just in a different way. More up close almost. 

There was one problem though. He didn't actually agree with Thomas on much. Alex knew that Democrats didn't work on Republican candidate's campaigns. 

'It's like Angelica said though, I could prevent Burr from getting in there. I'd still be helping and making a difference,' Alex thought to himself. Maybe his alliance with Jefferson could help sway other democrats who don't like Adams. It wasn't like he was giving up his morals, he could make this work. 

“Alexander?” Thomas asked after his long silence, “You can say no, there are other people I could ask.”

Did Alex actually hear a somber and disappointed tone behind his words? 

Then Alex decided.

“I'll do it. Yeah, I'll give it a shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any Hamilton song reference is probably on purpose. Thanks for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if this story is super slow, but I'm planning on it being pretty long so that'll give it time to advance. Also, I've been taking care of my brother's pet gecko and it's giving me this urge to get a lizard for a pet. I just love the little fellow. Someone needs to talk me out of getting one :)

“And tonight we're hearing that journalist and former democratic strategist Alexander Hamilton has a spot on Republican Thomas Jefferson's campaign team as campaign spokesman. We'll have Hamilton himself on to explain why he's working on a republican's campaign and we'll ask him about the campaign's overall feeling of readiness for tomorrow night's republican presidential debate.” 

The little outro music that symbolized going to a commercial break, and Alex could hear it in the green room. Alex started bouncing his knees up and down in anticipation and maybe even nervousness. He was as prepared as he would be for his first interview as spokesperson, but it would still be the first time and with all the backlash from democrats he'd worked with in the past, Alex wanted to be able to explain to all of them why his decision made sense. He wouldn't add that it was the first job offered to him after being fired. That wouldn't sound great. 

Someone waved him out of the green room and Alex followed them down the hall. They got to the studio room and it wasn't anything that Alex wasn't used to. He'd been a journalist, he knew the bright flashes of the cameras and the blinding lighting designed to cover up news anchor's imperfections. 

The Anchor waved and smiled at him as he sat down in the seat next to her. 

“Good to have you on Mr. Hamilton,” being called Mr. Hamilton was new.

“It's good to be back on a set,” Alex smiled. That was all the time they had before she turned her chair to the teleprompter and they were back on. 

“In case you missed it, we have Mr. Alexander Hamilton on today,” she turned to him, “You know everyone's wondering why you would work on one of the republican's campaigns instead of Adams'. So, why? What is it about Thomas Jefferson that has a democrat, such as yourself, trusting in him and allying yourself with him?”

Alex cleared his throat, he knew how these interviews worked, but now he was on the other side of it, “First of all, it's nice to be on. I appreciate the time.”

She nodded, urging him on.

“When Thomas,” was that too informal? No, they were friends now. That was a nice thought, “offered the job to me, I was very surprised. I didn't think he'd want me to work on his campaign, especially with our past history of disagreement.”

“To say the least,” the anchor weighed in.

“Yes, we're no strangers to public feud. But I was very impressed that he's making such a bipartisan outreach. Nowadays both parties won't work together, and for that reason a lot doesn't get done in Washington. I've joined his team because, though I don't agree with everything he thinks, I think he's our best candidate. I think he cares about his country and I think he's going to make an effort to bring us together, both parties. We've been working against each other for too long,” Alex felt good about his answer and he flexed the hands that he'd been sitting on since coming in the studio.

The news anchor seemed good with that, “What would you like to say to those, on both sides, calling you a turncoat?”

“I would say,” he gulped, “that I'm following my principals and morals over my party. We don't owe our political parties anything, we owe the American people a government that works for them and their interests. That's just what Thomas Jefferson is going to do when he's elected president,” finally, that was an answer that he knew was good. 

“I think that's a good message,” she brought her pen up to her mouth, “Is your candidate prepared for tomorrow night's debate?”

“He most certainly is, we've been working and practicing for it. If I was Aaron Burr, I'd be worried,” Alex smiled, trying to keep the comment lighthearted. 

It worked because the News anchor laughed, “He's probably watching, maybe he'll have to stay up a little later practicing. Thanks for being on,” she shook his hand.

“Thanks for having me.”

As Alex left the studio, he definitely had a pep in his step. He felt he'd done well and it might be easier to represent Thomas than he thought. 

~~

James and Thomas turned off the TV after Alex's interview.

“He was good,” Thomas mused aloud. Maybe it was good to have someone who came across as so likable on your team. 

“I'm not going to lie Thomas, I thought this would be an awful choice. All the republicans and democrats complaining to us and Alex about being traitors didn't help your cause, but I think if anybody can handle it, it's Alex,” James said, a slight smile making its way to his face. 

“You know, I think you're right.”

James abruptly stood up and yawned, “I'll be back later, I'm going to go meet with some pollsters to see where we're at.”

“You know the polls matter more after the debate, before the primaries?”

James looked annoyed and slid on a light coat, “They also matter to tell us how the polls look before and then after the debate. See you in a bit.”

“Alright, see you later,” after James had been gone for a bit, Jefferson decided to call Alex. He wanted his help and he thought he'd tell him that the interview went well. Not that Alex needed anyone else to inflate his already too large ego.

He dialed his number and waited. 

~~

Alex saw that Thomas was calling his phone and he noticed his heart thumping then. Did Thomas think the interview went well? If he didn't, would he fire him?

Alex answered it as casually as possible, “Hey, what's up?” he was driving his rented car back to the hotel in St. Louis. This was the city that the debate was going to be hosted, so they had a little time to settle in there. 

“Alexander, nice job with the interview. You did good.”

Relief and pride flooded his body all at once, “Thanks, you're hard to defend, you know.”

“I'm sure I am. Anyway, I was wondering if I could have your help with something.”

“Yeah, sure. What is it?” He turned left, the tall hotel now in sight.

“I need you to pick my daughter up at the airport at three thirty,” Thomas said it so nonchalantly.

“Wait, what the hell. I didn't even KNOW you had a daughter! You're her dad, you need to get her,” Alex had to avoid going over the speed limit, his frustration extending to his driving. 

“First of all, yes I do have a daughter. She's in fifth grade and her name is Patsy. Second of all, why can't you get her?”

“Because I'm nor your personal servant, that's why,” Alex parked, maybe a little skewed. But he was in a hurry to get up to Thomas's room

“I never said you were,” Thomas murmured and if Alex had been there, he'd have seen his eyes roll. 

“You're her Dad for God's sake! You don't want to go get her?” He held the phone to his ear and walked across the hotel's modern lobby and to the elevator. The worker behind the counter smiled and Alex raised an eyebrow across the way at him. The elevator let out a ding, indicating it was about to open. He stepped inside the empty elevator and pressed button 5. 

“I thought it would be something easy for you to do, but apparently I was wrong. You're also the one with the rental car.”

“If you ask nicely, maybe I'll let you drive it,” Alex paused, “How about this, I go with you to get her? If you're so uptight about it.”

Thomas sighed on the other end, “I don't see her much, okay? I see her in the summer when congress is in recess and her boarding school sends them home. We don't have the close relationship that I wish we did. She's coming to see the debate.”

“You have more issues than I do. What do you say about going with me?”

After a long and indecisive pause Thomas sighed again, “Fine. That would actually be...good.”

~~

Thomas and Alex rode up together to the airport. It was very busy for a monday, but Patsy's flight still hadn't touched down. Both men were sitting down and watching passengers pass by, getting off and on planes. Alex wished Thomas would stop fidgeting, he was practically emitting bad vibes. Alex set his hand over Thomas's knee, trying to be casual about it, “It'll be fine. She's excited to see you.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“You're her Dad. She would have been confused and disappointed had it just been me getting her. So, what's she like? What does/ she like?” Alex thought it might distract him.

Thomas stared into the distance, thoughtfully, “she looks like her mother did. She really likes school and sometimes she sends me letters in cursive about the latest thing she's learned.”

Thomas smiled a true and happy smile. Alex smiled too, “You love her,” Alex added. Thomas seemed a lot more open and thoughtful on the subject of his daughter. 

“Of course I do Alexander,” and Thomas looked over at Alex, the look making Alex feel vulnerable. It was like Thomas was looking right into Alex's eyes, desperate to make him understand, “She's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I don't want to mess it up.”

“The only thing you could do to mess it up would be if you abandoned her. And you aren't, so you have nothing to worry about.”

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to incorporate Jefferson's daughter because she was a big part of his life. It's easier for me just to write that he has the one, so that's what I went with. I've also never been to an airport, I just based that bit on my best guess as to how that would be.


	8. chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few weeks, but I'm back with another chapter! Next chapter should be the debate, but we'll see. It feels good to be back though.

Alex watched as a tiny girl skipped quickly their way, dragging a purple luggage bag along with her. He was sure that was Patsy because she had Thomas' button nose and tightly curled and bouncy hair. She was, quite frankly, adorable and Alex felt himself grin. 

Beside him, Thomas was obviously nervous yet thrilled all at once and he stood up to hug his daughter as she got to them. Alex knew Thomas might kill him for this, but he snuck a few photos of the touching moment onto his phone, happily cementing the memory with a picture.

Sliding his phone into his pocket, Alex smiled at a briefly confused and suspicious Jefferson. The other shrugged as though it wasn't worth looking into it yet, and he introduced Patsy to him.

“This is Alexander, he's helping me try to be president,” and Alex shook her small hand. When she smiled, it revealed empty spots where she'd been losing teeth. For a moment Alex wondered if Thomas felt bad about not being there to see her lose them. Then the thought passed when Patsy looked up to her Dad and asked him, “He's working on your campaign?”

Thomas seemed to think that was a big word for her to know, “Yes, that's exactly it,” then he patted her head affectionately and looked at Alex in a way that illustrated the pride he felt in his little girl. Alex could tell she was smart already and could tell that Thomas was feeling relieved already. 

“It's good to meet you Patsy. Did you miss your Dad?” Alex asked whilst Thomas got Patsy's stuff together to take back to the hotel.

“I did!” She exclaimed. “But now I'm really happy. Sometimes we skype, but I can't hug him on skype.”

Alex found that sad, but he tried to be in the moment and to appreciate the happiness that everyone was feeling now. 

“You can hug him as often as you'd like now that you're with him,” Alex suggested and she hugged Thomas again without his knowing first so it startled him. 

It was sure to be a fun ride back.

~~

Not too long after getting back to the hotel, James came up to the room and the four of them started playing Candy Land. 

Yes, the game with the dice and colors lined up.

Alex could see that the fact that they were spending time literally playing games instead of studying for the next night's debate was killing James. The short man was on edge, and he was trying to send Thomas a signal through the glance he was intently sending his way. Thomas didn't notice however. Whether that was because he was avoiding his campaign manager's stare, it was hard to tell.

While Patsy moved her piece three spaces, Alex checked his phone. He had a text from Angelica. She was in town for the debate as well, except she was here to report on it with Burr's press corps. She wanted to meet up in town to eat and talk. He texted her back to ask where and when she gave him a reply, he had to tell the others that he'd be back in a bit. 

He put a coat on and drove to the restaurant. Alex stood and waited for a bit before he got another text. This time it was from Thomas. It was of Patsy winning and Alex furiously texted back about how cute she was and to congratulate her. 

He was still typing when he heard an exasperated sigh and characteristic heal tapping. Alex looked up once real quick and then brought his eyes back to his phone before the realization set in.

“Angelica! You're here, just a sec,” Alex hit the send button and pocketed his phone. “How are you doing?”

They walked inside together, “I'm doing fine. You seem to be back on top of the world immediately after you fell from grace. How's that work?”

The server asked them if they wanted to sit at a table or booth and the two decided to sit in a booth. They sat down and Alex replied, “I guess it's my good luck and charm. Or my connections.”

She chuckled and shook her head, looking past him to the restaurant's entrance, “Only you Alex. It really surprised me, but you're resourceful. You seem taken with Jefferson though, like you're really close. John Adams has started to dub you as a traitor of the democratic party and Aaron Burr actually agrees with him. That's the only thing they've ever agreed on before.” 

Angelica started flipping through the menu while Alex pondered what she'd said. After a moment of reflection, he said, “I don't care what John Adams says or what Aaron Burr says,” Then he started looking through his menu as well.

“I know you don't Alex, but their voters will probably agree that they don't like you. You could, potentially, screw up the Jefferson's campaign's image.”

“I would beg to differ,” Alex started, “it shows that Thomas willing to unify Washington. It can only be a good thing.”

Before Angelica could get another word in, the waitress came and took their orders. 

After the server was gone, Angelica smiled and shook her head again a Alex. She didn't offer any explanation, so Alex took it upon himself to ask, “What?”

“What did they do to you? You're all,” and she did an awful impression of her friend, “Thomas this and Thomas that. Thomas is willing to unify! He's going to change Washington for the better!” Then she changed back to her actual voice, “You used to call him Jefferson in a disgusted voice and now you say Thomas in a delighted tone. What's changed?”

Alex was appalled, “You don't know him like I do. I think he truly wants what's best for the country, I just don't think that reducing the size of government is what helps people. I don't worship him or especially like him.”

Then, as if on cue, Alex's phone buzzed and it was Thomas again. Every time his phone flashed, Thomas' name popped up on the screen and Alex's finger itched to type out a reply.

“Feel free,” she said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. 

He ended up putting his phone on silent and upside down before dinner was over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't get as far as I wanted, but I wanted to post again. I'm going to be busy for the next few days and won't have time to write, so hopefully this is good for now.

Alex woke up that morning with the slightest feeling of nervousness in his belly. As a reporter, debate days had been exciting and busy. Today would be the same, but he'd never considered how stressful it was for the candidates and their teams. Alex was on the other side of this, and it didn't necessarily feel good. 

As he buttoned his white dress shirt up, his brain considered all the things that could go wrong. Debates had a great power to boost a candidate's likability, but conversely they could also ruin a campaign in one night. It was a risky game to play, but there could be no gain without it. The American people deserved to know the people they were voting for and what they planned to do. 

Tying his shoes, he considered the Kennedy/Nixon debates before the 1960 election. Many historians consider that debate to be a huge turning point in Kennedy's direction that could have been a contributing factor in his win. Nixon was visibly anxious, while Kennedy had played it calm and cool. Thomas would have to present himself the right way. 

Alex left his room and went down to the parking lot to drive up to the debate hall. They were all meeting there to do interviews and to prepare for the debate. Tonight was going to be crucial.

~~

While Thomas, James, and another one of Thomas' campaign aides Mr. Monroe (also called James, but Alex always knew him as Mr. Monroe from when he was a reporter.) were going over last minute mock debate questions, Alex had been giving several interviews. 

His last interview before the debate was with the pundit Tom Paine.

Amidst the crowds of press and people coming to get seated for the debate, Paine and Alex stood in front of bright lights and flashing cameras. 

“There's quite the turnout so far, your team ready?” Paine asked and Alex couldn't help but be reminded of talking about a sports event or something. It was just surreal to be here in this position, to have a stake in whatever was to happen. 

Alex laughed, “I'm confident enough to say that yes, we are,” the other half of him wondered if they weren't. A spokesperson had to be fluent in bullshitting, that was for sure. Luckily, Alex wasn't half bad at that.

“Any specific questions that you're anticipating and spending extra time on?” 

Tough one, “Well obviously the Hemings question needs to be settled. Mr. Jefferson is planning on addressing that. Also the issues with healthcare and jobs. Mr. Jefferson is really just ready to lay out his plans and ideas tonight, and that's what he plans to do.”

While Paine continued asking questions, Alex took a swig of water from his water bottle. He felt himself start to sweat already in the packed room. 

“In New England and the West Coast, Burr's up in the polls while Jefferson's up in the midwest and South. Do you think there's any reason for that?” 

Alex stepped from foot to foot, considering the question, “I'm sure the facts that Burr is from New York and that Jefferson is from Virginia, go into it. Jefferson's spent a lot of time in the midwest this year too. I'm sure there's a whole host of reasons that go into it. But it's certainly a weak spot that our campaign is going to have to work on.”

Paine nodded, “Luckily Jefferson will have time tonight. Thanks for speaking with us Mr. Hamilton,” and he shook Alex's hand.

“Anytime,” Alex smiled and pulled his clammy hand back, knowing it was more than likely glistening with sweat. 

Alex walked off. He checked his phone and saw that James had asked him to come back behind stage for the half hour before the debate. 

~~

“I'm fine James, honestly. This isn't my first go at this,” Thomas said, patting his suit down and rolling his shoulders back. He wanted it just to start, the waiting was the difficult part. This anticipation was killer, in a bad way.

James just sighed, and opened up his phone for the time. Why wasn't Alex here yet? He had texted him more than five minutes before and he still wasn't there.

Then, on cue, Alex stumbled back behind stage. 

“Where were you?” James asked, frustrated. Alex thought that James was more stressed out over this than Thomas himself. 

“Sorry, there are so many crowds! I had to literally push my way back here and then these people were questioning why I was allowed back here. It was a mess. But I'm here now!” And Alex opened his arms to illustrate what he was saying. 

James just shook his head. Patsy was back stage with her Dad, but when she noticed Alex, she ran over and hugged him, “Alex!” 

“Hey, kiddo,” Alex said, “You here to cheer your dad on?” 

She nodded, smiling the whole time. 

“Speaking of,” Thomas patted Alex's back, “I hate to ask, but could you sit with Patsy in the crowd? She likes you and she's comfortable with you. It's inconvenient but-”

“Thomas,” Alex interrupted, “It's okay, I can do that. Don't sweat it.” Truth be told, he liked that Patsy too. She was a nice kid and he didn't mind to help Thomas when it came to Patsy. 

Thomas looked appreciative, “Thank you.” 

Monroe nodded over to Thomas, “Ten minutes left.”

“Alright,” Thomas replied from across the backstage space. 

Alex watched Thomas rock back and forth on the balls of his feet. It wasn't too obvious that the candidate was nervous, but Alex could see it. He had come to know the man well enough to see that when he brought his thumb up to his mouth that he was somewhere deep inside his head. He blinked more too. 

There wasn't much time left, so Alex was going to have to take Patsy back to get a seat. He didn't want to just leave Thomas without offering a comforting word though so without thinking, he leaned over and hugged him. 

The surprise of it brought Thomas out of his head and he hugged Alex back. To avoid making it awkward, Alex pulled back a bit, “Hey, you'll do great. Make us all proud, right? Prove that your policies aren't so terrible that I have to stop working for you right?” He tried making it more of a joke at the end to diffuse the serious tone. 

The end part seemed to bother Thomas more than anything else, but he quickly recovered, “Yeah, of course. Alexander, thanks for all your help. I'm a pain sometimes, I'll admit.”

“I can agree with that,” Alex started with a grin, but Patsy started yanking on his hand, “Okay, Just take a breath. You'll do fine.” 

They started walking back to the main room when Patsy turned back and shouted, “Love you Papa!”

Alex turned back to see Thomas smiling sweetly to his daughter, “Love you too Patsy!” 

 

Alex's heart felt light and warm for a moment and he had to smile despite himself. It all felt so domestic. But then he remembered that this race to the presidency was far from over, and it wasn't time to celebrate yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a sucker for OTP fanfictions where one of them kinda meshes in with the family of the other. I think it's cute. Anyway, thanks for reading! I'm sending you all good vibes~~


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ACTUALLY STARTED WRITING THE DEBATE. THE THING THAT'S BEEN MENTIONED SINCE CHAPTER 1. I do have to say though, this was only part 1 of the debate. It was more of a run through of what it's like to write, so I didn't get too far into it. I hadn't realized how complicated it would get. It's sort of supposed to be based on what's going on presently. Kind of. Anyway, now that I know how this will be to write, I'll be able to formulate a better plan for how to write the second half of it. I wanted to put this chapter out there for now though. It does what I want it to. it advances things slightly.

James knew that at this point there was nothing he could do or change. It wasn't unlike the feeling you get when you spend a lot of time studying for a test and then you're finally sitting in front of that paper. At that point, you just have to hope you've studied and prepared adequately. The major difference though is that James wasn't the one taking the test, Thomas was. So it might have been safer to say that he was the teacher watching his pupil take a test. A test that was broadcast-ed in front of the whole country. 

No pressure. 

Before he could get stuck farther in his head, his colleague James Monroe patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

“You feeling okay?”

James Madison nodded, “Yeah, I'm okay. I feel like I might pass out after this when the exhaustion kicks in, but for now I'm feeling an adrenaline rush.”

The other James just laughed, “Understandable. So,” he changed the subject, “When did Hamilton and Thomas get so close?”

“Huh?”

His friend just shrugged, “It's been quick. I follow the journalist news, I know he was let go from Washington's channel. Nice of you guys to employ him though. Now they're buddy-buddy.”

“It's not sympathy or his personality that caused us to hire him,” Madison defended, “He has good political instincts,” he crossed his arms as he heard the anchors announce Burr and Jefferson's names to come out on stage.

“I think there's something there. I don't care why you hired him, of course. Just saying. Sounds like the shit's about to hit the fan,” he said in respect to the event starting. Monroe walked off then, leaving Madison to analyze the coming events independently. 

~~

Alex sat in one of the front-most rows next to Patsy. They were close to the desk where the anchors would be asking questions. There were lights and cameras everywhere, and patriotic colors and flags adorned every corner. 

As the candidates were announced to walk out, Alex sat on the edge of his seat. First Thomas walked out with a smile and a wave. He didn't seem to be nervous, he seemed subdued. That had to be a good sign. 

Then came Aaron Burr. 

There was something arrogant in his gait. He appeared overconfident, but Alex couldn't be sure how other people would read it. It might be appealing to some, but not to Alex. He had to stop and wonder where Angelica was in the room and how he hadn't seen her yet. With so many people, maybe it wasn't so strange.

Both candidates stood in front of their respective podiums as the room clapped voraciously almost as one. The anchors started interrupting the sound of cheers slowly as to give the crowd the sign to quiet down so that they could begin.

It was Sam Seabury and Eliza Schuyler moderating the debate. Eliza started, “Hello and welcome candidates,” to which more clapping sounded, “We're coming from St. Louis today to bring you the National Republican Presidential Debate. First, we'll give each candidate two minutes to give an opening statement. Then we'll continue on to questions that we've chosen from a diverse group of twitter users who've sent questions in to our network.”

After she finished, Seabury continued on, “You'll have two minutes for each question. After two minutes have passed you'll hear this,” and a shrill beep noise rang in the air to illustrate that point. “At that sound, you're time is up and the other candidate can give their counter-argument. After we're done with questions, both candidates will have time for their closing statement.”

Eliza then stated, “Mr. Burr, in a random coin toss, you've been chosen to go first. You have two minutes for your opening statement.”

Burr cleared his throat and leaned his elbows over his podium in an attempt to look casual, or that's how Alex interpreted it anyway, “It's great to be here in St. Louis and to be standing next to my fellow republican over here, Thomas,” and Burr nodded and smiled toward Thomas.

Alex could see that behind Thomas' polite and cool smile, there was the feeling of being irked. Thomas' hands gripped his podium just the slightest bit tighter. Then they loosened up as Burr kept talking and Thomas calmed down.

He continued, “I'm here to prove to you, America, that I have the skills and ambition to protect your rights and families. I want to make my late parents proud. They instilled the values in me that I continue to live with today. They worked hard to make a good life for me and my siblings, and that's what I want for every citizen of our great country. The American dream is giving everyone the opportunity to succeed and thrive. I believe in that dream and I believe that under the Adams' Administration a lot of people have lost the optimism and hope that those in our country deserve to feel. I want to restore our hope by getting Americans on their feet again and working. I want to improve our borders to prevent illegal immigrants from taking American jobs. I want to keep our country safe from terrorism. I want to protect our rights, including the rights of the unborn. I want to stand up for religious freedom. These aren't just things I want, they're things I will do when I'm elected president in the fall.”

Alex joined in the group's loud cheering, but he himself hardly made a noise. He made fleeting eye contact with Thomas, so Alex discreetly rolled his eyes to show the man how he felt about Burr. Alex could have sworn he saw the quickest smile grace Thomas' face before they looked away.

Burr's opening statement was actually decent. He was a good speaker, and he connected with the audience well. That didn't change the things he said and the ways that Alex didn't necessarily agree. 

“Now your two minutes start Mr. Jefferson,” Seabury prompted.   
Upon feeling a tap on his thigh, Alex looked over. Patsy was leaning over him, her legs crossed at the ankle. She wore an expression of worry, “What if Papa messes up? What if he messes up?” 

Alex tried smiling to comfort her, though he was uncertain himself, “Your Dad knows what he's doing,” then he added as a joke, “Have no fear, Uncle Alex is here,” and he pointed to himself.

She looked slightly more comfortable, “You aren't my uncle.”

Here was a kid who liked being right, much like her dad.

“Yeah, well. I meant it as a figure of speech,” he shrugged, and fidgeted with his tie. Thomas was starting his opening statement, and things were getting quiet again. 

“I'm glad that we're all finally here in St. Louis for today's debate. It seems like we've been preparing forever, but that today was never coming. I'm here to try and express my beliefs to all of you. I'm here because I would like to represent our country and keep our government in check. I can't be the only one here who would agree that the government is too involved in our lives. It seems like everywhere you turn, it's there. We have a national debt that we're watching increase and we haven't done enough to try and change that. The government is asking for more and more of our hard earned money for taxes, and to do what? We waste too much money on meaningless things. I don't think our representatives have the right to ask for anyone's money unless it's going to something absolutely essential. Yes, essential is up for debate, but I think essential counts as something that keeps our country safe. That's my ultimate goal, to create a world where our loved ones can feel secure in their country and where we truly be free to pursue our goals without others interfering, including our government.”

This time, Alex joined in the clapping enthusiastically along with Patsy. He knew that Thomas depended on a more libertarian coalition than Burr did and it sounded like there were many here who agreed with the libertarian philosophy. Alex didn't entirely agree with Thomas, but his dislike for Burr drove him farther to Thomas. Alex thought that government played a crucial role in a citizen's life, but this was a republican debate. They wouldn't agree with his views on the national debt or government funded programs.

Eliza smiled and addressed the room once again, “Okay gentlemen, we're going to pull our first question, for Senator Burr first” she looked down at the card in her hand, “ What would your goals be for your first one hundred days in office?” 

Burr straightened up, “There's no doubt that we need to lower taxes and tighten our borders. Those will be just some of my goals, but I also want to shut down funding to Planned Parenthood and reform our current health care system that is, as you all know, terrible. Prices are high and the quality of the care is low. It's not good. The way it was passed, was not good. We'll do a better job under my leadership. I know what I'm doing with this and I'm ready and willing to start it not long after being inaugurated,” After finishing his remark, he took a quick drink of water before putting the glass back on the podium.

Alex could see Thomas itching to respond to that. Then Eliza gave him that opportunity.

“Thank you Miss Schuyler. In response to your plans Mr. Burr, all due respect to you, but the goal to reform health care and defund Planned Parenthood will prove difficult if the polls prove correct in saying that both the house and senate will remain under democratic control. Not to say that those are bad plans. They aren't. My vision is that we can work closely with our democratic counterparts, and that might require compromise. But compromise is important when it comes to being a leader. Rwandan president Paul Kagame is quoted as saying, 'Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.' and I think that's an important quality in a leader, especially the leader of a country that is as divided as ours has been as of late.”

Thomas finished up and, as usual, Alex was surprised by how eloquent the Virginia native sounded despite his southern twang. The spokesman liked what Thomas had to say and he thought that he sounded smart and like a real leader. 

In the seat next to him, Patsy say and swung her legs up and down. Alex realized that this might be awfully slow and boring to a child. It was only just getting started too, there were still significant questions to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look for the next part of this soon! I'm having fun writing this, so thanks for reading it!


	11. chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I read through this again? Probably. Am I going to? Not right now :)

The debate started, as they usually do, polite and full of substance. Both sides gave good answers that were full of specific policy. But as it went on and both candidates had used up their talking points and rehearsed lines, things got less mannerly.

And, as it went on, Alex was feeling more and more annoyed with BOTH candidates. He tried telling himself that it was only natural. They wouldn't agree, they shouldn't agree with each other. After the health care questions though, where Burr and Thomas actually agreed and said health care wasn't a /right/, that's what probably bothered Alex the most.

People like Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson would never have to worry about paying for health expenses. They weren't the ones hurting, and they never would be hurting for money. Alex knew what it was like to live penniless and from paycheck to paycheck. Health care should be a right, he thought in his mind.

Now that this had gone on for about ninety minutes, it had to be close to over. Patsy looked like she was going to fall asleep. Alex couldn't blame her if she did, it was more than likely past her bedtime. 

~~

James was feeling...okay. The debate had been going arguably well. If you wanted a louder and more bold candidate, then Burr would be your choice. If you preferred subdued with a calm and cool head, then you'd pick Jefferson. That much was obvious, and James knew every news channel would point that out as soon as they were done here. 

He was still waiting though. The Hemings question hadn't come up yet. Her interview was tomorrow, conveniently, so it was important that Thomas got in his side of the story as soon as possible. 

Then, he heard it, “Mr. Jefferson, I'm sure you've been expecting this question. Viewers would like you to explain what actually happened with the whole Hemings affair. We're giving you two minutes to respond and clear this matter up as best you can.”

Oh God. Oh boy. Here was the big one. James watched as Thomas did his standard nod and started off into his story.

“Mrs. Hemings and I did involve ourselves in...a relationship of sorts. My wife had been passed for about a year and I was in a bad spot mentally. I was looking for some kind of relief and Mrs. Hemings was always very kind and amicable to me. She conveyed to me that she was lonely as well and in the mental place I was at, I wasn't worried about consequences. I never forced her into anything, and our relationship was consensual on both sides. Do I regret it? Of course. She was a married woman. It was wrong, but it's not disqualifying.”

~~

Alex could see Aaron Burr's face scowl as Thomas explained himself. This wouldn't be the end of this controversy. It was the perfect kind of thing for the Burr campaign team to latch onto. Any scandal was great for deflecting policy questions. 

Burr interrupted with his two-cents, “We'll have to tune in tomorrow to Mrs. Hemings' interview. Not that I don't trust you Mr. Jefferson, but you have a lot more to lose than she does.”

Alex was amazed at how well Thomas could look disinterested and bored, unprovoked, “Everything I said tonight was the truth.”

“Not like we haven't heard that before,” he shot back. 

Part of Alex wanted Thomas to defend himself, or bite back. Thomas didn't though, and maybe it was for the better. The exchange made Burr look petty and rude, while Thomas came across as above it all. 

The event started winding down from there, and after the closing statements, the debate was officially over. The room started buzzing around once again like a busy bee hive. 

“I want to go home, I'm sleepy,” Patsy yawned, leaning her head on Alex's lap to use it as a makeshift pillow. 

“Sleeping here won't get us closer to home. C'mon, let's go congratulate your dad,” Alex patted her back in an attempt to get her to move.

“You'll have to carry me!” she laughed. 

Alex saw the room thinning out, and he actually wanted to get going too, “Patsy, come on. There's no time for games.”

She refused to move, “I know. That's why you'll carry me. I'll be too slow walking to keep up with you,” and Alex was almost certain he heard a giggle follow her statement.

Maybe his parenting skills needed sharpening, but she wasn't his daughter. Technically, he could spoil her and never face the consequences. It wasn't long before he gave in and just picked her up like she asked.

On his way backstage, they passed by John Laurens.

“Hey Alex, did they demote you to babysitter?” His reporter friend asked, all grins. 

“It's complicated,” was what Alex decided to go with. He was glad to see Laurens, but antsy to put this day to an end.

“I won't keep you too long, but your man held his own out there. Not bad at all.”

My man? Interesting term, but okay. “Thanks. He's not entirely clueless,” Alex joked, “Gotta run though. We ought to meet up and hang out one of these days. When things slow down.”

Laurens nodded, “I'm down for that. It'll be awhile before anything slows down though.”

“True. Talk to you later, alright?”

“Sounds good Alex. Get some rest!”  
“Same to you,” Alex called, rushing off. He hated cutting his friend off like that, but it was almost midnight. 

~~

“Thank God that's over, I thought it would never end,” Thomas groaned and stretched his arms behind his back, Madison following him for every step .

“It went surprisingly well Thomas. Tomorrow's a big day too though, don't forget,” James rambled, scrolling through a list on his phone.

Thomas sat down and sighed again, “I know. She's not the type to lie about what happened. After tomorrow it will be all over and done.”

James looked skeptical, “It rarely clears up so smoothly.”

“If she lies, then it'll be bad. Simple as that. Where's Alexander and Patsy? I need a drink, pronto.”

“I'll send him a text,” James suggested, typing out a quick message. They didn't have long to wait. Alex was holding a sleeping Patsy over his shoulder.

“Sorry, she just fell asleep and it wouldn't be fair to wake her up,” He exclaimed upon getting to their area backstage. He turned to Thomas, “Good job not coming across as a complete asshole. I know that can be tough.”

“Sounds as though you need a nap too,” Thomas complained. He slid off his suit jacket and folded it in his arms. It had gotten hot inside and he needed to cool off, “We ready to head out?” 

Madison shook his head, “I have a few interviews to do and I have instructions for some of the others on the team. Being the manager of this chaos is a hard job, but someone has to do it. Our first Iowa primary is coming up quick. I'll meet you back at the room.”

“You overwork yourself,” Thomas scolded. 

Rummaging through his briefcase to put some papers away, James shook his head, “Hopefully it'll all be worth it. See you guys in a bit. I expect everyone to be asleep by the time I'm back!”

They watched him walk back and Alex muttered under his breath, “Okay, mom,” prompting a nod of agreement from Thomas.

“I swear he's always been like this,” then he held his arms out, “I'll carry Patsy if you'll drive?”

“Works for me,” Alex agreed.

~~

Thomas was busy putting Patsy to bed, so Alex sat in the living room area of the hotel room. The couches in these hotels were notoriously hard and uncomfortable to sit on, but that came with the job he supposed.   
In an attempt to avoid any news channels, Alex had put on a show about aliens. There really was nothing worthwhile on TV tonight. 

Since the show wasn't keeping his attention, he just sat with his chin in his hands and thought. He thought about how tired he was. He thought about how different his world was now. Things had completely changed from how they had been a month or so ago. Could he say they'd been changed for the better? 

Things were like a roller coaster now. He was either totally optimistic and happy with where he was, or he was extremely down and exhausted. Alex thought that, despite all Thomas' flaws(of which there were countless), he was still their best option. My how things HAD changed...

“Do I sense anger or annoyance?” Thomas asked, leaning in the doorway of Patsy's room. 

“Just exhaustion,” Alex replied, wiping the drool off the hand that had been holding his chin. He sat up straighter and watched Thomas in the kitchenette. 

He opened up one of the higher cabinets and had to hop a little to reach it. Alex knew that he himself would probably need a footstool, so it was best that he wasn't in that position. Thomas grabbed a couple of spotless wineglasses, “Are you a wine fan?” He asked Alex.

“That's fine,” he called back, continuing watching him pour the red wine into the glasses.

Thomas sat down on the other side of the couch and set the cups down on the clear coffee table in front of them, “Are you sure you aren't mad just a little bit? I feel it in the air.”

Alex considered it for a moment, “Well, it's hard for me because I don't agree with you often. It's hard to root for you in all of this,” and Alex waved his arms about, making Thomas lean away to avoid getting hit.

“You knew that going into this Alexander. You're always welcome to leave, you've signed no contract,” Thomas bluntly said, looking down into his glass.

He was right, Alex knew that. But...he couldn't leave. He felt empty just thinking about it. This was a newly realized feeling too. He had to be involved in this, Thomas was their best chance. It was silly and immature maybe to feel this way about someone who was a politician, but Alex believed in him. That went against everything he'd been taught to think.

Alex waited to say anything, he just downed a huge gulp of the wine. He felt the warmth flow down his throat and to his stomach. It woke him up slightly.

“I'm not leaving this,” Alex said, “You're stuck with me.”

It was apparent in the way Thomas' eye's brightened up like a hopeful little kid's that he was relieved. Not that he admitted it out loud.

“We'll be holding you to that,” Thomas smiled and chinked his glass against Alex's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I appreciate you all reading this! Also, not sure if "chinked" is a word but hey. It sounds cool.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is the slowest at developing their story ever??? It's me!!! 
> 
> Anyway, here's the next chapter. Slow, as is my custom.

Despite being sleepy, Alex and Thomas stayed up for awhile after their new found agreement. Maybe it was partially out of defiance of James' order to get some extra rest or maybe it was just being worked up from the excitement of the day, but they stayed up for some time talking.

Slightly buzzed and more than a little sleep deprived, most filters were off. They were currently on question 6 out of 21 as the game normally includes.

“In honor of tomorrow's interview, what are your relationships with your exes like?” Thomas asked, genuinely curious. 

Alex laughed, “Actually, the last person I dated was Eliza Schylur. Ironically, she was that moderator from today. We're still on good terms. Awkward terms maybe. She has such a big heart, she deserves better than me really.”

“Why didn't it work out?” 

Sitting up, Alex crossed his arms, “Isn't it my turn to ask a question?”

The other just shrugged, “Are there really any rules?” He took another drink, finishing what was left in his cup. 

“Whatever,” Alex started, “She and I were just...Eliza needed time just to space out from everything. I, on the other hand, never stop. My mind's on my job 24/7 and we weren't compatible in that way. I drove her crazy sometimes.”

“Understandable...” Thomas joked, earning a poke from his spokesperson.

Moving on, Alex asked “What are the most important things to you?” whilst spinning his tall glass in his hand. He watched the glass's contents with a fascination that only someone who was partially intoxicated would.

“What, like,” Thomas stared off into the distance, “Top three?”

“Sure, that works,” and Alex set his feet on Thomas' lap. Thomas just looked blankly at them.

“What?” Alex asked.

Thomas just kept staring at Alex's feet. He then raised an eyebrow, “What is this?” Thomas demanded.

“They're called feet. They hold the weight of our bodies and give us a foundation to stand on. Any other questions?”

“No, my problem is that you're wearing your shoes still. You put your dirty shoes on my lap. That's not allowed.”

Alex didn't plan on taking his shoes off anytime soon, “My feet will smell bad if I take them off. Believe me when I say that that would be way worse.”

With an exasperated huff, Thomas shook his head, “You're a mess Alexander.”

That only gave Alex a bigger smile, “Your mess now.” He tapped his shoe encased feet up and down then. 

“Off, Alex!” Thomas muttered, attempting to push Alex's legs off. Alex pushed his legs back though and it ended up being a tug-of-war type fight where neither side made any progress. 

The hotel door cracked open suddenly, revealing James as unraveled as Alex had ever seen him. When he saw Thomas and Alex fighting, he balled his hands into fists and closed his eyes, so frustrated that he had to remind himself to take a few calming breaths, “Could you two just, STOP?!” 

Alex and Thomas paused where they were and decided that maybe it would be best to give James his space for the time being.

~~

The next morning, or afternoon was more accurate, Alex didn't wake up until 12:30. Thomas, Patsy, and James were already up and about. Patsy was going to be flying back to Virginia to go back to her boarding school, so Thomas was taking the beginning of the day with her. James was organizing the campaign on the ground in Iowa for the rapidly approaching caucus, so he was going to fly in there and meet Thomas and Alex separate. Alex would fly over there after doing some interviews on a few various news networks. 

It was a busy day without including the Hemings interview, but add that in and things were chaotic to say the least. 

~~

Thomas didn't like goodbyes. No one does, of course, but Thomas might have hated them more than your average person. Saying goodbye for most people didn't mean goodbye forever, but it had for his wife, Martha. 

Today he'd have to watch his daughter wave back to him and go board a plane ride back home.

Sometimes there wasn't a thing he wouldn't do to be able to go back with her. He missed his home, he missed Virginia. That's where he belonged, not in the buzzing U.S. Capitol. Yet, getting to D.C. was the goal of this whole affair. 

Was it worth it? This dirty business, was it where he belonged? Out there, sparring with Burr or Adams? Was he irresponsibly throwing away his own daughter's childhood? 

But then he remembered exactly what he was fighting for and exactly who he was fighting with. 

Traveling across the country, he'd seen people suffering. He saw people that had been born in poverty, these people who felt stuck on the bottom of society. Thomas saw a diverse array of people who just wanted to be able to pursue their hopes and dreams, and raise their families in peace. 

These were people who had no idea what was going down in Washington everyday. These weren't slimy government officials, out of touch with their constituents. No, they didn't care about the specifics of policy. They cared about their futures and whether or not they were bright.

Thomas was going to Washington to defend them. He was going to put, what he thought were, the best representation of the people and the best implementations to safe-guard their liberties in place. 

That didn't mean that he couldn't give Patsy a fulfilling childhood or that he'd never get back to Virginia. Certain things would just have to wait. But in the meantime, he was happy with where he was. 

~~

They were sitting in one the airport's restaurants, seated in a tall table near the enter/exit. Because it was Patsy's favorite food, Thomas and her had ordered a pizza. They had to be surrounded by a few secret service members, and though Thomas worried that it would make Patsy uncomfortable, it didn't seem to. 

He thought he could tell that Patsy was starting to feel bad. She was talking less than usual, which wasn't how she usually acted. Thomas could have waited a few days before sending Patsy back, but if things were to get nasty tonight with the upcoming interview, then he wouldn't want her to have to see that go down. 

There wasn't much that was getting her to say anything, but when she heard the TV behind them mention that they'd be talking with Alex via webcam after the break, she lightened right up.

“Alex is going to be on TV!” she exclaimed, looking back at the television behind them.

“He's on TV a lot,” Thomas told her, watching her watch the TV, “That's a big part of his job.”

She turned around then and slid her cup towards herself to take a sip from her straw, “I like him. He's nice.”

It just figured that Patsy liked him so much. At least it got her speaking, “He is nice,” Thomas decided to agree. 

“Why isn't he running for president?” She asked him. 

Great, even Patsy would prefer to endorse Alexander than him, “He isn't necessarily a politician. Alex was a reporter. That's why he deals with the press.” 

“Could he be your vice president?”

Now that would never happen, “No, that's not where I'd put him if I was elected. He could be my press secretary. That would be a similar job to what he does now.”

She looked pouty then, “I think vice president would be better.”

The commercial break was over then and the news anchor introduced Alex. He was actually sitting in the hotel room from before, probably with his laptop webcam.  
At times, Alex could get extremely heated on air when he was frustrated with someone. That someone used to be him at times. Thomas just hoped that he'd keep his cool now that Patsy was watching him like he was her favorite comic book superhero come to life.

“Is the Jefferson team concerned about what could come out tonight?” The anchor asked.

Alex shook his head, “Not at all. Our only concern would be, potentially, if she were to lie during her interview. We don't expect that to happen though. We expect this to be cleaned up after tonight.”

The anchor nodded and looked down to her sheet of paper before continuing, “We've been reporting that last night's debate went well for both candidates. There wasn't much that shifted. Because of that, The Burr Campaign's spokesman, James Wilkinson, told us earlier that they are waiting, essentially, to pounce on this story after tonight's interview. Your response?”

Alex just laughed it off, “Quite frankly, I don't think there will be anything to pounce on. It just shows that the Burr campaign has nothing else to run on. I think they should be more concerned with the Iowa caucus that's coming up at the end of the week.”

Thomas let out a sigh of relief. Alex was good, he actually really appreciated the man. He didn't tell him that enough. At least he did a good job of acting confident about tonight. Thomas himself knew in his heart that he didn't lie about the nature of his relationship with Sally Hemings, but for some reason he felt nervous nonetheless. When you were involved in politics, you always had to expect the worse. It didn't help that Thomas didn't quite trust Burr, or his spokesperson Wilkinson. There was something unsettling about that partnership.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! See you next time


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick little update here.

James had landed in Iowa a few hours ago and he hadn't expected so much work today, but things were busy on the ground in Iowa. James was directing volunteers and surrogates around, getting voters registered, and setting up various town halls readying them for the upcoming caucus. 

It was nice and refreshing to hear the enthusiasm in these volunteers' voices. It was catching, and even James started feeling lighter than he had before. They had a good operation here. The Midwest liked Jefferson.

But things were constantly changing.

James stood in front a copy machine, waiting for his copies of campaign posters to spit out and so he could then laminate them and have volunteers attach stakes to the backs. Yard signs could be effective. 

A young volunteer walked in the room, both her arms behind her back and James could feel that she was nervous. One foot slid back and forth on the ground underneath her, her heel up in the air. 

“Hello,” James said absentmindedly, inviting her to speak to him. The papers finally started flopping out and stacking up.

She pulled a small stack of magazines from behind her back, “Have you seen these?”

James spared a glance towards them. The sight of the top one made him laugh, “Oh, yes. I saw that at the store not too long ago actually. Ridiculous, aren't they?” The cover of the magazine was an unflattering picture of Thomas looking angry. The headline was, “Jefferson FURIOUS after hearing of Hemings Interview!” 

“You have to wonder how they got a hold of that picture anyway,” James muttered, shaking his head and gathering his copies. 

“There are more...” she mentioned. 

The campaign manager just waved his hand, “That magazine is in Burr's back pocket. You shouldn't trust anything you see on them.”

The volunteer followed him out of the printer room to the front tables in the hall, “I get that, but you don't think some of these have a teensy bit of truth?”

“Like which one? Thomas isn't mad about the interview, he isn't nervous about that.” 

“I understand that. It's just,” she bit down on her lip and shuffled through the magazines. She finally found the one she was looking for apparently, because she pulled it out and tossed it on the white table in front of James.

The headline was in big, bold letters, “Inside Jefferson's Secret and Complicated Love Life”.

Now, the headline itself wasn't the problem. That sort of line was used constantly in the tabloids, it was whatever. The photo though, was painting a more troubling rumor. 

It was a picture of Thomas, Alex, and Patsy at the airport. James had to admit that it looked very domestic and convincing. Thomas was hugging Patsy and looking thrilled to see her, while Alex was watching them both with adoration apparent on his face. It was like a picture straight out of a cheesy Hallmark film that you never mean to put on, but you end up watching the ending of. 

“You're worried that he's gay or what? These are lies, like I said,” James forced himself to say. “Besides, why would it matter?” 

She looked incredulously at him, and he actually noticed her name tag for the first time. Victoria sighed, “This is a republican campaign. If there's any truth to this, it'll take him right out of this. Burr can't be president, he's horrible. John Adams doesn't have a chance.”

Other volunteers who said they'd help attach the stakes to the sign, were starting to gather around. James didn't want to discuss this with anyone else, he wasn't sure how to assure them that it wasn't true when he himself wasn't sure about it. 

“Victoria, don't concern yourself with this magazine. I'm right in the middle of something now. If you're still worried about this later, just remember what I said.”

She sighed reluctantly and crossed her arms with a nod, “Okay. You're probably right. I'll try to forget it.”

James tried his best to put on a reassuring smile, “No worries.”

He started handing out piles of signs and explaining to his team what needed to be done, but he was only halfheartedly living in the moment. The other half of himself was wondering if Thomas and Alex's newfound friendship wasn't more than he thought it was, and he wondered why it had taken him so long to see it. 

~~

 

Alex sat in the airport, waiting for his plane so he could finally get going to Iowa. He was bored, sitting there alone. Looking around, he saw a small store that sold simple traveling supplies. Items such as granola, candy bars, pillows, pamphlets, books, and magazines. Things that would keep you occupied on a long trip. Since he was bored, he decided to walk in the small store and look around.

He wasn't hungry, so the food wasn't very appealing. What he did want was some stimulation for his brain, so he looked over at the books. Normally he wouldn't spare the tabloids a second thought, but their close proximity to the book shelves accidentally caught his eye.

Seeing Thomas on magazines lately wasn't an unusual thing. It was usually something slanderous that was supposed to come out and completely ruin his bid for the white house. This time though, he actually saw that he was on one! 

Alex had to do a double take. Yes, that was him! He looked closer. At least it wasn't a bad picture of himself. It was of him, Thomas, and Patsy at the airport! Who even took that photo?   
Then overlaid on the picture was the line, “Inside Jefferson's Secret and Complicated Love Life”.

Alex couldn't help the heat he felt in his cheeks. What the heck was this all about? Dare he actually look through it?

He went to pick it up, but his hand stopped halfway there. He wouldn't do it. He'd only regret looking. There was nothing that said that Thomas and him were...anything more than friends. No indication at all. Magazines like this made outlandish allegations all the time, so why was this one freaking him out? Why did he feel like Thomas seeing it would be the worst possible scenario?

Taking a breath, Alex tried calming himself down and thinking rationally. After a few moments of contemplation, Alex concluded that it was just odd because he had never seen himself on a magazine. He would've bet that Thomas had felt strange when he first saw himself on a magazine, even if he wouldn't have admitted it. 

That had to be it. 

He tried ignoring the awkwardness that he felt replying to Thomas' text on his flight to Iowa. His friend needed consolation after having to drop Patsy off earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm hoping everyone knows what magazine I'm referring to. Everyone knows the one.) Thanks for reading! See you next time readers!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! It hasn't been that long, but it feels like it has. This is pretty brief, so, without further ado, here's chapter 14!

Eliza flipped through her questions one last time and smiled gently at Ms. Hemings across from her on the adjacent couch before she got the indication that she was live. They were live, but there was a three second delay as a cushion.

This interview was highly anticipated. Eliza was proud to be the anchor chosen to conduct this interview, even if she still struggled at times with anxiety over pubic speaking. Being an anchor, it helped that she didn't have to see her audience, but the number of people watching her sometimes struck her randomly. That was especially true during live shows.

She started with the introduction and focused on the task at hand, “Ms. Hemings, thank you so much for sitting down with me. We really do appreciate your time.”

Sally smiled and folded her hands in her lap. Eliza could see that the other lady was apprehensive and nervous. She continued to tuck her loosely curled mocha colored hair behind her ear while Eliza asked her questions.

“Now, the reason you're here with me is, I'm sure, obvious to everyone. Your former employer, Thomas Jefferson, is in the bid for the presidency.”

“Yes,” Sally nodded.

“Now, you were one of his aides?”

“I was,” Sally nodded again.

Eliza cocked her head to the side, “How did it make you feel to hear that he would be running for president?”

Sally exhaled sharply and looked down at her hands, avoiding eye contact with Eliza, “It wasn't completely unexpected, you know? He was already a prominent politician, being a senator and all. He never struck me as the sort of man who'd want to be so directly in the public eye though. He was sort of...shy?”

That surprised Eliza, but then she considered that some people are good at working through that kind of anxiety, like herself, “That might be surprising to our viewers to hear, but you worked first hand with him.”

“I did,” Sally said again.

Deciding that she'd have to just get right to it, Eliza asked the question that everyone had been waiting for, “I'm going to dive right in here,” Sally tilted her head and brought her hand up to her mouth, “Did you, or did you not carry on an affair with your boss, Thomas Jefferson?”

The silence seemed to stretch on farther than the distance across oceans, but Sally finally answered, “Yes, Thomas Jefferson and I had an affair while I worked for him.”

Eliza could feel the breath leave her lungs for a moment, and she imagined that America, as a whole, was feeling much the same. 

“Was this a consensual affair?”

Hemings started shaking her head and sobbing, “No. No, it was not. I was happily married at the time and he took advantage of me. He's the reason my marriage failed.”

This was certainly unexpected. 

~~

After the Hemings interview, the story broke wide open. Sally's accusations were being vehemently denied, defended, and everything in between. If you were on the Burr team, then this was just the opening you were looking for.

Thomas was incredulous upon hearing of Sally's answer, “This is a lie! She knows she's lying, someone's paying her to say this. James, find what scumbag did this!” He flopped his arms around, willing them to fix his situation.

James and Alex sat on the couch in the hotel room watching Thomas melt down in front of their eyes. Tonight wasn't supposed to be like this. 

Alex was angry too, but he couldn't get a word in with Thomas yelling and carrying on and he felt like he needed to stay calm for him, “We know it's a lie Thomas. We can fight this, you'll come out looking better afterward.”

Thomas grabbed his head in his hands and plopped down on a chair, “You ought to understand that this is huge. People will stop listening, they'll hear, “Scandal,” and that will be all. It's over, we don't stand a chance.”

“Bullshit,” Alex insisted, standing up and grasping Thomas' shoulder, “You can't act defeated over this. She's a liar and once that's exposed, people will be furious.”

Thomas looked down at his feet, “It was that Burr. I know it was. Someone's telling her to say this, she wasn't that ambitious on her own,” then he sat up more, forcing Alex to have to take a step aside, “I'm going to be an alcoholic before this is over, I need a drink.”

“Thomas,” Alex started, his sentence fizzling out in a sigh. That someone would smear Thomas' name without any truth to it was incredibly frustrating and made Alex want to punch someone, preferably Aaron Burr. 

This wasn't supposed to be easy, Alex knew that going in, but he didn't think he'd get so invested. Alex watched Thomas pour himself a drink and he felt helpless. He did feel like he could easily defend this man though. 

That thought brought the memory of the magazine back to Alex's head and he tried shutting the thought down but it was too late. 

It was ridiculous to think he was a part of Thomas' love life. It wasn't true no matter what Alex might want or feel. He'd be lying to himself if he was to say that there wasn't some part of him that cared deeply about Thomas. Why else would he defend the man daily when he didn't always feel like it? Other than getting paid of course. Then it hit Alex that Thomas was his employer too, just as he was Sally's. He could potentially get Thomas in even more trouble. Then there was the problem that he was a man and Thomas probably didn't even agree with the legalization of gay marriage...

Alex stepped on his own foot to switch his thoughts. He couldn't afford to think like this, Thomas was almost definitely straight. 100% straight. There was no way he'd ever look at Alex as anything other than...an annoyance. A means to an end. 

A spokesperson.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Stay tuned, readers.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I write better on my desktop. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because my keyboard clacks louder?? Nah. I'm not actually sure.

It seemed that they couldn’t escape the looming headlines, no matter where they looked. They all cut deep. Headlines like, “Adams calls for Jefferson to Drop out of Race”, and, “Misogyny Runs Rampant in Jefferson Campaign”, or, “Thomas Jefferson: Sexual Predator?” were numerous, and not even the worst ones.

Thomas could hardly leave his room without being bombarded with accusations and questions. He was also fairly certain there were plenty of people who felt keen to beat the crap out of him, but James had gotten him a few makeshift bodyguards who’d also been working on his campaign. To put it simply, this was a definite low point of Thomas’ whole career.

For what it was worth, Alex was fired up. The good thing was that he wasn’t giving up, but Thomas was worried about Alex damaging his own reputation even farther. There were still some democrats and journalists who held a grudge against Alex. But Alex wouldn’t hear any of Thomas’ warnings; he was determined to solve this problem and his first step in operation: Stop this ship from sinking, was to hold a press conference himself. 

While Thomas couldn’t be there, he could watch it on TV from his isolated hotel room. His two bodyguards were both sitting on an opposite couch.  
The camera was pointed at an empty podium and Thomas couldn’t see the press, only the backs of whoever was in the front row. This was going to be extensive, and he was really hoping that Alex could help him out here, like he always seemed to be doing. If anyone could write a convincing rebuke to Hemings’ charge, it was Alex. 

Then, Alex was walking out to speak and the room got quiet. It was obvious that this was to be a grave and serious affair.

He started, “Before I take any questions, there’s plenty I have to say. First of all, any accusations or presumptions about Mr. Jefferson forcing Ms. Hemings, or anyone else, into any kind of relationship with him against their will, is simply false. What we have is Ms. Hemings’ word against Mr. Jefferson’s. I’m not yet certain why Ms. Hemings would start to spread this falsehood, but you can be sure that we’re looking into it. In this country, we’re innocent unless proven guilty. There has been not a shred of evidence that Mr. Jefferson committed any wrong doing, yet he and his campaign have been pounced upon like a lion on a defenseless antelope. This attempt to smear and distort Mr. Jefferson’s character will not work. To those who still believe Ms. Hemings, I ask you, what evidence is there? All things considered, there is none. All she has is her word, and that’s not good enough in a court of law and it shouldn’t be good enough in the court of public opinion.”

Thomas had to hop up off his couch and fist pump. He felt like his favorite baseball team had won the World Series. Alex really did have a way with words; Thomas had watched the man furiously pen the draft for this speech the previous night. He’d never been more thankful to have him on his side than then. Thomas made a mental note to take him out for a drink or something one of these days to repay him.

Words were one thing, but public reception to those words could be quite another.  
~~

There was a lot running through James’ head. He just wanted a chance to sit down and take a breath, maybe try to clear his head, but he couldn’t. Not yet.

While Alex was busy in the public eye today, something that the man seemed to be avoiding more and more, James was working more behind the scenes of this scandal. The plan was to check and see if Ms. Hemings had had any visitors to her apartment in recent days, but James would have to be discreet. 

He had to fly back out to D.C., so the lead better be worthwhile. 

In a rental car, James pulled into the parking lot for an extravagant apartment complex. 

It was in a suburb outside Washington, so James could only imagine how much it cost. He turned the key to turn the car off, and stepped out. He stared all the way up the building until reaching the top. His best guess was fifty floors, but he wasn’t positive. People could be seen buzzing in and out of the building, clearly in a hurry to go someplace or meet someone. 

Speaking of meeting someone, James’ eyes searched around the front of the building for the reporter that Alex told him to meet. She was supposed to have more information on the Burr’s campaign’s involvement with Ms. Hemings. 

Just when James was about to shoot Alex a text concerning the whereabouts of his reporter friend, a lady waved him over to her.

“James, right?” Upon seeing him nod, she continued and stuck her hand out, “I’m Angelica. Alex’s friend. We should talk somewhere like,” she looked around, “your car.”

It wasn’t a question as much as a definite statement, so James led her to his rented car and they both sat in the front. James wasn’t the most sociable person, and speaking with someone he only knew by reputation, wasn’t easy for him. 

“It’s a good thing the Jefferson team has someone cool-headed like yourself. Alex is absolutely having a meltdown, at least when he talks to me. I’d presume Thomas is too. You, on the other hand, aren’t giving off a vibe like anything’s wrong.”

All James could think was that it was lucky that she couldn’t see inside his head. He was as infuriated as the rest of them, “I wish you’d tell those two that. They’re often times too busy to pay me any attention.”

She snorted, apparently finding that humorous, “Who’d have thought that those two would have ever been able to get along. I’ve known Alex for a long time, mind you, and I can see how unusual this is.”

James feared just what road this train of conversation was driving down, “Yes, it’s very odd to say the least,” he started fiddling with the buttons on his car seat. He had to tell himself to stop, lest his seat reclined and he was to fall asleep. 

Angelica watched him curiously, and then cleared her throat as if to signal the switch in topic, “Now, I told Alex that something’s been off with Burr. He’s been too upbeat and optimistic. He had no reason to be optimistic. His poll numbers were way below Jefferson’s in Iowa. Jefferson tends to do well with farmers and the Midwest. My theory is that he had to have a hand in the Sally Hemings interview and her change in tunes,” Then she looked seriously at James, “Unless what she’s saying is true? Alex has this newfound blind faith in him, so I’m not totally sure I can trust what he says now.”

“Of course it’s not true! I worked with Thomas then as well, I was an aide at the time. There was something there, but it was consensual. I always thought she loved him and that she could have been bitter because it was too soon for Thomas to feel that way for anyone. After Martha died, he lost a piece of himself,” James hated to sound so defensive, but Thomas was his friend. He had to defend him.

“I believe you,” Angelica assured with a raise of her hands, “But my guess is that someone visited Sally, they offered her something in exchange for this. That, or they threatened her. I want to check the list of who has visited.”

“There’s a visitor’s list?”

“Yes. If you’re here to visit someone, you have to sign in.”

James felt confused, “Why did you need someone else here? You could have investigated this on your own.”

“I need someone else to distract the front desk secretary so that the coast is clear behind the desk and I can slip back there to check the list.”

“I-“ James’ eyes widened, “What am I supposed to even do to distract them? Get an injury?”

She looked at him again like he was crazy, “What the heck, no! I don’t know. Don’t hurt yourself. I was thinking,” She bit her thumbnail and looked through the front window.

“What?”

“Don’t laugh at me.”

“I won’t!” He promised, feeling skeptical. He raised an eyebrow and awaited her suggestion.

“You could plug the toilet or something?”

He didn’t laugh, he screamed. Internally. For years. 

 

Thomas had no idea how much he owed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I can relate to James so much sometimes, seriously.) Stay tuned ~~ Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, It's actual Thomas Jefferson's birthday! WOOT. I feel the need to bake a cake.


	16. chapter 16

So it wasn’t the most ideal situation.

James stood in the stall all the way at the end of the bathroom. To give the apartment complex credit, the bathrooms seemed spotless. Everything looked freshly cleaned and stocked, including the toilet paper, which was good for James because he’d finally decided on how he was going to go about this. 

He was going to throw as much wrapped up toilet paper into the toilet bowl as would plug the pipe. Then, sheepishly, he’d have to alert the front desk secretary. They’d promptly come to fix it all the while never noticing that Angelica was sitting in a lobby chair, waiting to catch a glimpse of the secretary leaving their post. She’d discreetly check the list. It was going to be simple.

Actually bringing himself to do it was another story. 

James took a deep breath to prepare himself, then yanked on the toilet paper hanging in its dispenser. He pulled a little too hard, however, and a flowing strand started folding down on itself and falling in waves to the floor.

“Come on…” he muttered, his face cringing as he knelt on the cold bathroom floor. While it didn’t appear dirty, James shuttered to think about it. The cold of the floor was chilling to his knee, even through his khakis. 

After a few more handfuls of toilet paper were tossed in, James looked over his work. The paper was thick and was lining the whole bowl at this point, its absorbency having soaked up a lot of the water. He figured that would work, so he raised his foot to the button to flush.

Just as he had wished for, the toilet struggled to flush down and the water started steadily rising to the top of the bowl. It kept inching closer and closer to overflowing, and James had to stand with his back as close to the stall door as was physically possible. 

“Gross, gross, gross, gross…” he started repeating aloud and stepping off from foot to foot. 

The water managed to drip out, but not in any quantity larger than a puddle. James let out a deep sight and wiped some sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. Part one was over.

He swung the stall door closed behind himself and stood in front of the mirror to do a quick wash of his hands. Suddenly he was jolted from his thoughts by the sound of another flushing toilet. James had been so immersed by what he was in the middle of, that he had forgotten that this was a very public bathroom. Anyone could have heard him.

A man came out from the stall that had flushed. He looked at James with his nose raised in a way that read as disgust, anger, and maybe a little worry, “Are you okay?”

Before answering, James looked at his reflection. He looked like he’d just gotten through an ordeal, the way he was sweating and his clothes were untidy. 

He put on his best campaign smile and nodded, “I’m fine.”

As soon as the other man assumed his neutral facial position to wash his hands, James noticed that he looked like someone. He couldn’t be sure who though. He didn’t give James a good feeling though.

James noticed that the familiar man skipped drying his hands and just as he was leaving, James saw a bunch of keys left in front of the sink he’d been at. James was about to call out to him, but something held him back. Thinking it was the best thing to do for now, James snatched them and stuck them in his pocket. He could probably turn them in here later.

He walked out the bathroom hallway and back to the lobby. Out of the corner of his vision, James saw Angelica sitting in one of the chairs, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine. They made eye contact for a split second and James saw the subtle little nod that she gave him. With a larger stride than before, James made his way to the desk.

The man standing there was looking through some papers. It didn’t take long for him to ask James what he needed.

In what might have been the most embarrassing conversation he’d had in a while, James relayed to him that he’d plugged the toilet and that the water had started coming over the edge. 

The secretary groaned, and stood up and out of his chair, “I’ll take care of it. Thanks,” he stomped out from behind his desk and to the bathroom’s hall.

James stood there, trying to be as casual as possible while waiting for his co-conspirator to get a look at this notebook. James leaned over a bit and scanned down the list at the names. None of them stood out until-

“Can I help you sir?” James looked up and locked eyes with another worker behind the counter. Her name tag had the apartment complex’s name and James felt like groaning. Angelica was the one who knew the Burr campaign team in and out; she should have been up here. It was too late now.

“No, actually, I was already helped. Thank you though,” James ran off like a wounded bunny. Now what? 

~~  
Thomas was stirred awake abruptly at the sound of a glass shattering. Sitting up as straight as an arrow, he found that he’d fallen asleep on the couch. Both bodyguards were gone though, and Thomas looked over the back of the couch. Alex had dropped one of the glasses that the hotel had stocked in the cupboard.

“Sorry,” Alex cringed, “Will they charge us for that?”

Only Alexander could be so clumsy, “Yeah. It’s fine though, don’t worry about it,” and Thomas drowsily ran a hand across his forehead. It had to be late judging by how dark it was through the curtains, “What time is it?”

Alex started picking up glass shards from the floor, “It’s got to be about two. I’ve been back for a while now. I told those two to just go back since I was here.”

Thomas glanced skeptically at him, “You think you’re worth two bodyguards? Where’s the logic in that?”

Alex disposed of the glass and shrugged, with his typical cocky smile, “’Though he be but little, he is fierce!’”

Shaking his head and smiling despite himself, Thomas corrected, “It’s ‘she’, I’m fairly certain. But whatever.”

“I knew that, duh,” Alex countered. He leaned back casually against the kitchenette’s counter, this time with a plastic water bottle. He must have been wary of breaking another glass, “You must be tired of being cooped up in this room.”

Thomas considered that and found it to be true. He felt like a caged bird or a tiger on exhibit at a zoo. He stood up and stretched his arms out before walking to look out the window by Alex. It was pitch dark and being up in the wee hours of the night had a way of making you feel as if you must be the only person in the world. He turned to look at where Alex was standing and he caught him already looking towards him. Thomas remembered that he hadn’t really answered him, “I am, but it’s late. We should probably be sleeping. The coming days are going to be hectic.”

Alex stood to look out the window too. The only things visible were some wheat fields and stars above the fields. They were in the middle of nowhere, “Sleep is for the weak,” Alex declared, “I say we go do something. Something unrelated to work. We might not get the chance for a long time after this week.”

There was a part of Thomas that thought that sounded like a fun idea, but most of him was focused on work 24/7, “What are we going to do? Go cow-tipping? We’re in the middle of nowhere and I’m not exactly unrecognizable at this point.”

“Every little town has something. And there’s a simple fix, you could,” Alex slid the hair tie off his wrist and handed it to Thomas, “do your hair different, maybe?”

“You actually think people would assume I was someone else because my hair was in a different style? They’d have to be pretty thick.”

“Come on!” Alex urged, “Do you think we’ll even see anyone else? No. We could go see a movie or something, no one would see you if we were sitting in the dark. It would be a good escape!”

“Aren’t you exhausted?”  
Alex shook his head, “Nah.”  
Thomas turned back toward the window and crossed his arms. It didn’t take long for him to cave, “Okay, but I pick the movie.”  
~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How would changing his hair make him look like a TOTALLY different person?? smh. 
> 
> See you next time, my patient readers!


	17. Chapter 17: Such Slow Burn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why, hello again folks! It's been almost a week, I think. Hopefully everyone out there who comes across this is doing alright. If you aren't, then give it time ~~ 
> 
> Yay, another chapter.

Being that the theater was tiny, they didn’t have many choices on what to go see. Alex and Thomas ended up going to see a low-budget sci-fi flick that they could have probably improved themselves with simple editing skills, but neither complained excessively. 

The kid working the ticket booth might have been asleep, Thomas couldn’t tell. The kid was in that phase that Alex seemed to get stuck in some nights where he wasn’t asleep, but he was too tired to actually function.

That was just fine by Thomas, he didn’t need anyone recognizing him, even if he had tied his hair back. Alex assured him that it would throw people off their trail, but Thomas wasn’t so sure.

But that hadn’t mattered. The movie sucked, but Thomas hadn’t really been paying it any attention anyway. He was too distracted by Alex’s sarcastic commentary throughout the whole thing. At one point, Alex compared the alien monster to Aaron Burr and Thomas completely lost it. 

“We aren’t really sure if he’s not an alien come here to infiltrate our government though, are we?” Alex theorized, his legs crossed and his heels hanging over the seat ahead of him. They had chosen to sit in the very back because they were the only ones there anyway. At first Alex had wanted to sit in the front most seats. He changed his mind when Thomas shrugged and said that he didn’t care where Alex sat, but he wasn’t getting a nosebleed by sitting up front. 

“That’s true, but we have no actual reason to think he is,” Thomas responded, tossing a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

“I’m not so sure of that, James and Angelica are going to come across something incriminating. We’ll set them on Burr’s path too.”

Thomas had been wondering about those two. It bothered him that he hadn’t heard much from them, specifically James. 

Alex lightly punched his shoulder then, “You’ve got that look again. We left the hotel so you would be distracted from everything.”

“I’m pretty sure we left because you weren’t tired and you were bored.”

Alex didn’t argue that point, which must have meant it was true. But Thomas saw that something in the movie must have gotten a hold of Alex’s incredibly short attention span. He was watching the movie again.

It was more interesting to watch Alex than it was to watch the actual show. Alex’s face took on his feelings easily. He went from a furrowed brow of confusion, to wide-eyed wonder quickly. Thomas felt weird about it at first, but it was dark and Alex was focusing on something else anyway. 

After a while, Thomas closed his eyes and leaned back into his seat. Sitting here was peaceful somehow. It was like they were disconnected to everyone else and Thomas hadn’t felt like that in a long time. The only time he ever felt anything similar was at his Family’s plantation, Monticello.

God, he missed Monticello. It was his favorite place, his happy place. It felt like it was so long ago that he was last there. Thomas missed the isolation, the warm weather, the privacy, the tranquility of it. He was free to think and do as he pleased there. He missed Virginia, and he missed Patsy. Quite frankly, Thomas wasn’t sure how he’d gotten this far. 

Then he heard an obnoxious snort, jarring Thomas’ eyes open again. False alarm, Alex was only laughing at the comic relief in the movie. Thomas had to smile and wonder what had been so funny. Then he frowned. It was like there was a huge jigsaw puzzle in his head and the piece he’d needed next had just fallen into place. 

How had Alexander become so important to him? When did that happen? 

How terribly frustrating this was. Thomas was never supposed to hire Alex in the first place and now he’d become one of his top campaign advisors. James had told him that this was a bad idea and, as usual, Thomas should have listened to him. 

But he hadn’t and now he had to face the music. Alex had asked him once what the most important things in his life were and Alex had somehow poked and prodded his way onto that list. 

It was an inconvenience. Somehow he could imagine a life at Monticello with Alex and Patsy. The thought made him wistful and happy. How odd.

Unfortunately, the thought was unrealistic. And aggravating. Thomas wasn’t sure if he wanted to punch or kiss Alex.

Or both. Depending on the situation. 

“Are you okay? You’re grimacing,” Alex questioned. Thomas could appreciate the irony. Alex had no idea what Thomas was feeling.  
~~  
Sometimes Alex just wished that Thomas understood what he was feeling. Of course he appreciated getting to spend time with Thomas, especially just doing regular things, but it could be frustrating. He was sitting so close to him, but he couldn’t reach out and hold his hand or lean on his shoulder like he wanted to. 

Did he want to? It would change everything and Alex wasn’t positive that that was what he wanted. He went back and forth about it mentally. 

But either way, Alex could feel the awkwardness in himself. He tried making sure he was close, but not too close. That would be weird. And he didn’t want to be weird. He didn’t want to make Thomas uncomfortable. 

Though Alex was sure Thomas had been watching him. He had that feeling that you get when you’re being watched, that tingle on your neck that almost begs you to check behind yourself. That was a little weird.

“I’m not grimacing,” Thomas started, “I was just almost asleep. How much longer is this?”

Alex shrugged, “Probably not too much longer. We’re not invested in it though. We could leave early if you’re exhausted.”

Alex made to stand up but Thomas, somewhat impulsively, grabbed his arm, “Wait, Alexander.”

“Hm?” Thomas’ hand on his arm was making him worry about being impulsive himself.

“You asked me what the most important things in my life were once,” Thomas was making sure to hold onto eye contact. 

Alex remembered that, “Yeah? Finally going to answer me?”

He watched Thomas breathe in and out , the only sound coming from the screen ahead of them. Both had tuned the effects and dialogue out of their minds though. 

“Thomas?” Alex asked, barely above a whisper.

“What I'm trying to tell you is that...YOU're on that list,” Thomas groaned, his grip on Alex's arm tightening. 

“What list?” 

Thomas closed his eyes and let his head hit his headrest in frustration, “The list of most important things? Remember?”

Wait. 

Did that mean...?

Could Alex possibly matter to Thomas like Thomas mattered to Alex? It seemed unlikely, but that's what it sounded like.

Nope. Alex couldn't believe that. Maybe this was an extensive list.

Alex sat down again, his focus never once leaving Thomas, “What else is on that list? It must not take much to get there if I'm on it.”

“Don't say stuff like that. It's not a long list. I'd probably say it's Patsy, my home in Virginia, and you.”

The air suddenly felt heavy, so Alex joked, “That's not very platonic of you.”

~~

Alex had a point. It wasn't that platonic and Thomas wasn't sure what to make of his own feelings. This wasn't supposed to be the scene in a movie where someone declares their undying love. That wasn't it, but there was something there. 

He decided to just be as honest as possible and to try to speak his heart, “I don't know what I feel but I do feel obligated to tell you that...you mean something to me? I mean,” he sighed, “I wish this were easier, that we were in a simpler position.”

Alex interrupted him, “You're important to me too and you have been for awhile. If you weren't, there would be no way in Hell I'd work for you. No offense, you're a great employer and all, but reigning in your conservative leaning policies will always be hard.”

That was harsh. but Thomas was glad to hear that the way Alex said that implied that he'd be working with him for a long time. 

His spokesman continued, “But if we were working normal 9-5 jobs I'd probably ask if you wanted to get a drink or something.”

Thomas understood what that meant. He agreed. 

For the first time since they started this conversation, Thomas looked down at his feet, though he could hardly see them in the dark, “Imagine what the tabloids would say. I'd never get elected, would I?”

Alex kicked his foot and Thomas looked back over to him, “About that.”

“Hm?”

“I did see one magazine speculating about,” Alex did a silly looking motion with his hands.

“About?”

“Us, basically. Speculating that we were, like,” Alex did the same hand movement and it took everything in Thomas not to grab his wrists and stop him. 

“In a romantic relationship? That's the tabloids for you.”

Alex let out a laugh, but it was humorless, “Why's this so hard? Why can't it be like the movies?”

The way he said it nearly broke Thomas' heart. Alex sounded so hopeless. Thomas couldn't help but feel angry at the rest of the world, like it was the outside world that made this so difficult, “Maybe it will be,” Thomas started, “We're just not to the end scene yet,” and Thomas grabbed Alex's hand and squeezed it, hoping it could be of some consolation.

Usually it was Alex cheering Thomas up and motivating him to keep going, but Thomas knew he had to step it up here. This was a two-way deal. 

While the credits started rolling, loud music started to burst from from the speakers surrounding them. At this point, Thomas was wide awake and he didn't want to leave yet. So much had happened in these last few hours and he didn't want to go back to the real world. He wanted to be able to hold Alex's hand when he wanted. He wanted to be able to work through these complicated feelings along with this man that he'd come to...love? 

Thomas knew things had changed, and he knew that Alex and him would get through this.

Together. 

But first, they had a lot of people to prove wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much winged this one. Hopefully it turned out okay. There's still so much more to write for this that it's ridiculous. How will I tie it all together in the end?? We'll see. Anyway, hopefully you're all good with slow burn fics because it seems like that's all I know how to write. It's better than insta-love at least. 
> 
> We'll get an update that's (probably) more plot oriented next time!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been more than a week since I've updated!! Sorry about that!! I've had a lot happening here lately, so hopefully the fact that this is a longer chapter than usual will make up for it.

James sighed and rolled the tiny key around in his hand absentmindedly, for what had to be the tenth time. They hadn't gotten any farther. They hadn't gotten a good view of the list. Angelica brushed it off and said that there were other routes they could go to investigate this, but James was crestfallen nonetheless. 

 

Where he really should be was on the ground in Iowa. They needed to start the primaries strong, but he was already failing there. At least Monroe and more of Thomas' staff were situated there. That should be enough. And if James wanted to do something worthwhile while he was here in Washington, this is where most of the financial staff for the campaign were located. 

 

A knock sounded on James' apartment door. He stood up and looked through the peephole. It was Angelica, looking impatient. What he did notice, though, was that she didn't look disappointed. She looked excited. James took that as a promising sign and opened the door.

 

Even without heels, she towered over him. James had always been insecure about his height, especially around women. 

 

“Where's that key? I need to see it!” She pronounced, one hand held out. 

 

James, of course, still had it in hand. He gave it over, “Here, why?”

 

She ignored his question and turned the key, looking at it from all angles. 

 

“Angelica, what is it?” he pressed again.

 

She looked back over to him, “This looks like the keys behind the desk.”

 

“At the apartment complex yesterday?”

 

“Yes. I know it's a long shot, but,” She stared intensely at him now, James was trying not to get his hopes up too high, “could it be a key to Sally's room?”

 

It was an interesting theory, one that James was almost certain to be unlikely. Out of all the rooms, what would the chances be that the key belonged to her exact room? If anything, it was probably to the room that the man in the bathroom was from.

 

Then again, if you lived in an apartment complex, you wouldn't use the bathroom in the lobby.

 

The chance was there and somehow they'd been lucky enough to chance upon the key. If they didn't at least check out the lead, then that would be bad investigating.

 

“It is possible,” James started, pacing his room to the window, “How could we find out her room number?”

 

“About that,” Angelica said, “I was already thinking about it. I could call her up and tell her that I'm part of the press corps that had been traveling with Burr. If she let me go up and meet her at her room, I'd know the number AND get some insight on her relationship with the Burr campaign.”

 

“If there is one,” James reminded. Then he turned to face her again, “That's actually a good idea. I could see that working. And about the key...”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Maybe you could get her to leave her apartment. You could get something to eat in town and I could go up there to 'return' the key. There's a potential I'll find definitive proof.”

 

James wasn't usually into doing any sort of undercover investigative work, but this felt worth it to him.

 

Angelica actually seemed skeptical. She was obviously thinking it through, “If you find anything, let me release it. We don't want your campaign involved in what could look like breaking into Sally Hemings' apartment.”

 

“Good point.”

 

Angelica stood up from the couch and grabbed her purse. She then handed James back the key, “I'll make a few calls after a morning coffee, that sound good? I can hardly function without caffeine.”

 

James smiled in agreement, “I know a good coffee shop just a few blocks down, if you don't mind me joining you.”

 

“I always took you for more of a tea person,” she teased. 

 

He shrugged, “I like both. Coffee is more readily available in this town.”

 

He closed and locked his door behind them. Angelica stood by and waited, “You're not paying for mine though. I can handle it.”

 

That's what they all said, but James was pretty sure that Angelica wouldn't mind him paying once she knew he had a discount card.

~~~ 

 

Alex didn't sleep at all that night after leaving the theater. He felt too worked up. Something had definitely changed between Thomas and him last night and he felt content to just sit up scroll through his social media mindlessly. He had attempted to read, but his thoughts were too distracted.

 

But seriously, Thomas had ranked Alex right up there with the most important things in his life, that was a big deal. Or so Alex thought. Maybe Thomas hadn't meant it to be so...important?

 

No, that was a stupid thought. Thomas had meant what he said. 

 

He also sort of shut him down though. In the positions they were in, nothing could transpire. It would have to be behind the scenes, if at all. 

 

Alex should have known that that was true, but it was also deeply disappointing. For once in his life he wanted something to be normal. He wanted to get to know Thomas and date him. He could see himself integrating into his family. Alex could finally have the family he'd always longed for. It was that simple and that difficult. 

 

He sighed and decided to do something productive. 

~~

The sun had finally come up and with it, Alex had found the information he'd been looking for. He had made up his mind to give Sally's ex-husband a call. Alex hoped that the man could confirm the story that Thomas had told him and that, in turn, Alex had announced to the press.

 

He dialed the number outside on the hotel room's balcony. Thomas was still asleep so he was attempting to be courteous. There was also the fact that Thomas might not approve. It totally had less to do with that though.

 

It didn't take long until Mr. Hemings picked up, “Hello?” 

 

He sounded tired and Alex had his fingers crossed that he wasn't one of those people desperately grumpy in the mornings, “Mr. Hemings, hi. It's Alex Hamilton, I'm working on the Jefferson campaign for president.”

 

There was an unsettling pause, then a blunt reply, “What does that have to do with me? Is this about campaign donations?”

 

“Nope, this is about the recent interview that was on the news in recent days. You've surely seen or heard of it by now?”

 

“Yeah, I saw it. Is this about Sally?”

 

He was quick, “Yes, I want to ask you a few questions about what you knew about her...affair during the final years of your marriage, if that would be okay?”

 

Mr. Hemings grumbled, “Nothing stays secret in Washington...Okay, fine. Will this be on the record?”

 

“If that would be okay with you. Would you like to meet up somewhere or?”

 

“Just meet me at home, you can ask all your questions, and then never bother me again,” was the sharp answer to Alex's question.

 

Mr. Hemings gave Alex his address and they planned to meet later that day since it would be far for Alex to go. He'd have to get from Iowa to New York, but it wouldn't take terribly long on a plane.

 

The balcony door slid open behind Alex, and he looked back. Thomas, nosy as ever, had apparently just woken up seeing as he was still in his robe and his hair was crazier than usual.

 

“That sounds good. See you then,” Alex said, quickly ending his conversation and clicking his hang up button. He stuck his cell phone in his pocket. 

 

Thomas raised an eyebrow, “Who were you talking to?” 

 

Alex shrugged, “Um...Angelica?” He leaned against the balcony railing.

 

Thomas stepped around the patio table and stood next to him. Normally Alex would be happy at the close proximity, but he didn't want Thomas pressing this situation any more. He put on his most charming smile, trying to distract Thomas from his phone call.

 

“What are you planning on doing today? The caucus is tomorrow, you must have a rally planned.”

 

“Don't change the subject Alex, who are you meeting up with?” Thomas crossed his arms.

 

“Jealous, are we?” Alex implied, setting his hand on Thomas' shoulder.

 

“Tch, no! I mean,” Thomas composed himself, “That's not what this is about. Why wouldn't you want me to know? You're acting weird, weirder than normal anyway.” After Alex still didn't say anything, Thomas added, “It has to be something I wouldn't approve of.”

 

Alex groaned and rubbed his forehead, “Damn it Thomas, you don't make ANYTHING easy!”

 

“What is that supposed to mean?!” 

 

“It's just YOU, you're so thick! And frustrating! I'm trying to help you!”

 

“You're the thick one, if you would just TELL me what you're doing and WHY-”

 

Before Thomas could finish his thought, Alex gripped the back of his head and shocked Thomas by kissing him. Hard. And aggressively. 

 

At first Alex thought that Thomas wasn't interested, but he didn't push him away. Instead, Thomas grasped Alex's arms just below the shoulders, pulling him closer.

 

He'd been waiting for this for far longer than he'd thought he had been. It had been a long time coming, but it had been worth it...Even if Alex knew what Thomas was going to say about it. It wasn't anything he didn't know thought.

 

He didn't want to, but Alex had to pull away first. He figured that, with his short size, his lungs must be smaller. That was a frustrating thought, especially if there was more of this sort of thing to come. 

 

It was quiet now, Alex realized, seeing that it was still early morning. His arms were still wrapped around Thomas' neck and Thomas' arms were around his back. Thomas gently smiled at him and squeezed his back before releasing his arms. One hand went to Alex's face and Alex leaned into the touch, just waiting for Thomas' inevitable speech.

 

Thomas sighed, “You're gonna have to stop doing that. I'm gonna want to do it again and it's gonna be a problem.”

 

“Are you saying only special occasions? Some people only drink soda on special occasions like birthdays and Christmas. It wouldn't be unlike that.”

 

“Are you calling yourself sprite?”

 

“I'm just saying that if I had a PhD, I'd be Dr. Pepper.”

 

Thomas rolled his eyes, but Alex could tell that he was really smiling beneath it all. That was something Alex had gotten good at, he could see Thomas' emotions better than the average person. 

 

Thomas looked serious again, “Were you going to tell me where you're going later?”

 

Alex thought he'd forgotten, but he didn't feel right about continuing to fight about it, “Don't freak out. I called Sally's ex-husband and I'm going to talk to him, hopefully on the record, and confirm our story. It can only help. I'll be back tomorrow though.”

 

“Not what I expected...It's unnecessary, but it's not a terrible idea. I'll be meeting with some of our financial team and then I'll be holding a rally. I'll miss having you there, but just give me a call when you get there and leave. Let me know how it goes.”

 

“Of course,” and Alex knew he was pushing it, but he leaned up and landed a brief kiss on Thomas' mouth before stepping back and grabbing his cell phone again.

 

“What did I say about doing that?” Thomas laughed, defeating any point to what he had to say because if Thomas laughed like that every time Alex kissed him, then he'd never stop.

 

“Um, not to?” Alex feigned confusion and went back inside to get ready to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am trying for cute??? Oh well. Also, somehow I've started shipping Angelica and James, BuT I'M trying NOt TO. It doesn't really have a place in this, but the characters have their own ideas apparently.


	19. chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been quite a week for news, huh? I channeled my inner Woodward and Bernstein for this chapter.

Alex double checked the address on the mailbox in front of the quaint little row house. Now he was sure it was correct. He'd finally found Mr. Hemings' house right in the heart of New York city. Alex didn't know much about the man, but judging by the outside of his house, he wasn't hurting for money. 

He let his rented bike lean against the white rail fencing that lined Mr. Hemings' house and walked up to the front door, readying himself to knock. Sally's ex-husband had given off a vibe that said he was less than excited to talk with Alex, but, despite all the obstacles, Alex was here. 

It wasn't long until Mr. Hemings opened the door and invited Alex in. He let Alex know that his name was John and he slipped off to the kitchen to get a couple mugs of coffee. 

John was of an intimidating height, towering over Alex. He was also a very sharp dresser, but Alex noted that John dressed in more subdued hues than Thomas did.

While waiting for his coffee, Alex walked around the living room. It was the kind of room that you saw at the end of home improvement shows. The pillows on the couch looked freshly fluffed. The way Alex always ransacked his hotel rooms immediately upon arrival was a clear signal that he could never live that way.

On the mantle were a series of photographs. Alex picked one up and looked closer. He saw Mr. Hemings with another woman. His arm was around her shoulders, pulling her in next to him. 

It seemed like John had moved on from Sally, and Alex had to wonder if John was married to this lady. He couldn't help but feel jealous at how most people had it simple. Alex had always had trouble in that regard. He had his sexuality crisis in high school, shouldn't he be in the clear and accepting of himself by now?

It wasn't that he didn't accept himself or his sexuality, far from that, he was happy with himself in that way. His conflict was with visuals and the campaign/presidency. Even if they were engaged after Thomas was president ( as if their relationship/whatever they had could last that long), it would still be a shocking news story. Alex had tried racking his brain for a way that it could work, but he still didn't have a solution. It seemed like he never would.

He set the photo down and took a deep breath, trying to keep himself on task. This was some kind of investigative reporting, and Alex hadn't had that gig in awhile.

John came back finally and set the mugs on the coffee table which was situated in from of a couch. They both sat down, and Alex noticed John's sour look paired with his crossed arms. Alex desperately needed to get answers, and to prove this trip wasn't a waste of time.

“Go ahead,” John said, “where do you people start with this stuff? Ask away?”

Alex smiled and leaned forward in his seat, “I'm guessing you watched Sally's interview?” Alex thought it was weird that he still hadn't actually met Sally, for all this fuss surrounding her.

John frowned, “No, but I heard enough about it to know the headlines pulled from I,” then Mr. Hemings looked like something had finally clicked and made sense to him, “You're looking for a reliable source to discredit Sally and finally put this little scandal to bed for your campaign.”

It wasn't a question. Mr. Hemings was stating a fact, and Alex couldn't even disagree.

“But is she wrong?” Alex had to ask, not that he believed her at all. 

The man sitting adjacent to him started to smirk. The overall feeling in the air was that Mr. Hemings had something to hold over Alex, and it made him uncomfortable. He crossed his feet at the ankle while wrapping his hands around the warm mug of coffee. He waited for a response.

Mr. Hemings scooted to the end of the loveseat that he was sitting at, bringing him closer to Alex, “I can help you guys out. You'd probably love that, right?”

“That's not the question. Yes or no, was Sally being honest in her interview?”

John sighed, “I don't want a public feud with my ex-wife. If I'm going to let you use my comments on the record, I'm going to want something in exchange.”

Alex was astounded. That's not how this worked, and, quite frankly, it sounded like a slimy and under the table deal. As much as he needed Mr. Hemings' comments, he couldn't come across as desperate.

“Our campaign doesn't work that way John. Sorry. If you aren't comfortable speaking with me about this, then you shouldn't have agreed to it on the phone,” Alex hoped that would suffice.

The other man leaned back into the couch and crossed his arms, “We both know there isn't much you wouldn't do to clear this up. What's one less than appetizing deal when it comes to being elected or not? This could be make or break for you guys. I work on Wall Street, there are some things your administration could do to help us out.”

At that point Alex stood up and only narrowly resisted the urge to kick over Mr. Hemings' perfect coffee table. Their administration wouldn't owe any Wall Street 1%ers anything if he had a say in this. They wouldn't stoop that low. Alex decided then and there that he wouldn't be discussing this with John Hemings anymore. He'd find someone else to speak to on this matter. Sally had to have a close friend who he could talk to. It would have to be someone who wouldn't mind going against Sally's word though.

“I think we're done here. Thanks for inviting me over and I wish you luck in all your future schemes,” Alex said, eerily monotone. He started stalking over to the front door to leave.”

Before Alex could slam the door closed on his way out, John stood up and yelled at him, “You'll regret this Hamilton! I have more influence and information than you might think!”

“Any influence you have is more than I'd think!” Alex got out before the door closed finally. He had been so close to closing the book on this scandal, but Mr. Hemings proved to be a bigger asshole than he could have anticipated. For the first time, Alex actually felt pity for Sally to have to be married to him at any point. That almost proved Thomas' story that Sally had an affair, partially, because she was unhappy in her marriage. That wasn't a surprise in the least.

Alex hopped on his bicycle and started pedaling furiously. Now he just hoped that James and Angelica were on the trail of something.

~~

Angelica was out with Sally. They had gone to some Deli in town, and James had been promised an hour to check the key out and, if he was incredibly lucky, get into Sally's flat. 

James had to wonder if Angelica wouldn't have been better at this. Maybe they should have switched places for this mission, but there was nothing he could do now. He just internally prayed that this key worked or this was a lot of setting up for nothing.

For once in his life, James had a moment of good luck. The key fit and turned in the lock, allowing him to push in the door. 

The mess of the apartment was enough to give James a chill. He couldn't stand to live like this, but he also couldn't judge because it wasn't like he'd been invited over. 

Now what was he looking for? There was only a small chance that he could find evidence of the Burr campaign working with Sally somewhere in this apartment. Besides, if he did find something, what was he supposed to say? That he found this while breaking into someone's apartment? That probably wouldn't fly. 

He searched around, but wasn't able to find anything but a tiny locket in the bedside table. It contained a picture of Thomas from a few years ago and James briefly considered taking it to give to Alex as a joke, but he decided against it. 

That's when a knock sounded on the apartment door and James' heart dropped. This was it, the end. Angelica must not have been able to keep Sally busy for an hour. How was he going to explain this? Who would be the campaign manager? Would they do a better job than him? James hoped he'd get unemployment...

Wait. 

Sally had her own key, she wouldn't knock to get in. It must just be someone else?

James quietly stepped to the door and peeked into the peep-hole. It was an older white man and it took a couple seconds for his face to register in James' brain. He'd seen him before...

In the bathroom. He dropped the key.

But that wasn't the only place he'd seen him. That was James Wilkinson, of the Burr campaign. 

This was the evidence he needed, right in front of him.

He watched through the peep-hole as Wilkinson knocked a couple more times. He watched him pull a sheet of paper and a pen from his jacket. The man scribbled something down on it before kneeling down and sliding it under the door. Then he walked back toward the elevators and James watched as he disappeared into it. 

James didn't want to touch or move the paper, but he looked closely at what was written.

It said, “I'm gonna need a new key. Tomorrow we'll meet behind at our usual spot. I'll have the goods.”

The note made James feel like jumping for joy, a feeling that seemed to be going extinct lately. He figured he wouldn't be there for tomorrow's Iowa Caucus, but Thomas would understand. This set a new turn of events that could push the country in the Jefferson campaign's favor.

It looked like someone was going to have to follow Sally tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for plot!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE'VEMADEITTOCHAPTER20WOW
> 
> This is pretty much filler, but the coming events deserve their own chapter, I think.

“I can totally go, no problem!” Angelica was ecstatic when she heard about the letter at Sally's apartment. Eating and speaking with Sally hadn't actually been a bad experience, and Angelica thought that if things were different that the two might have ended up friends. Sally was obviously knowledgeable on a variety of subjects and she was actually quite funny. It was a shame that they were on opposing sides.

“Are you sure we should both go?” James asked. She could see that he wanted to be involved in this, but that he didn't know what they were getting into. Today was the first caucus for the republican primary and they both should really be at their respective campaigns. This was important though, and possibly their big break into, not only clearing up any more controversy surrounding the Jefferson campaign, but also cutting the primary short. Once voters knew that the Burr campaign was dealing in dirty tricks, he couldn't possibly win the nomination.

Or could he?

Either way, the Jefferson team had a long way to go, and it wouldn't be a piece of cake. There was a lot of work to come. Angelica, being a journalist, lived for this time of year though. 

And with drama like this? It was exciting. Not to mention getting to know James. He was timid in a way, but there was a lot going on in his head. She liked that about him.

He was also very frugal. That was always a plus when you were still an up and coming journalist paying off student loans.

“I think it's safer that way anyway. Someone should know where we are though, just to be on the safe side,” she pondered whom they should tell, “I could text Alex?”

“Not a bad idea. He knows both of us,” James figured. They were sitting outside a cafe in D.C., making their game plan for the day. 

Angelica texted Alex, letting him know that they'd be out later and that if they didn't text again before 9:30, then something could be wrong. She would send more info on where they were headed as soon as they knew. “Sent,” she told James, setting down her phone to eat more of her bagel.

“What do you bet he calls you in a mild freak out?” James asked, taking a sip of his still steaming tea.

Angelica hadn't considered that, but there was a good chance, “Hm, possibly. Alex doesn't usually take long to reply to my texts so-”

Her phone rang, eliciting a shrug from James and a “thought so.”

She pressed the button to pick up the phone, “Hey.”

“What in the world is going on?! You're in literal danger or what? Have you guys even found anything yet?” 

There he went again, with the questions. That's a quality that made you a good reporter, “We're fine Alex, hold onto your pants. I can't exactly get into specifics here, but we're really on the trail now. Weren't you going to talk to the ex-husband?”

There was a prolonged silence, then, “That's good on your part. As for me...well...”

“Well? Trouble? Why does that not surprise me, you're too combative,” Angelica saw James' face contort to confusion, but she couldn't explain anything yet.

“Hey, it wasn't my fault this time. This guy was a royal pain. He was actual trash.”

Angelica rolled her eyes, Alex could really use some training in patience, “So you didn't get anything from the guy?”

“No. Just...threats.”

“You threatened him!?”

James looked absolutely appalled then, hearing only Angelica's side of the conversation. Alex continued, “No! Who do you think I am? No, it was the other way around. He said he wouldn't help me if I didn't promise to help out his little Wall Street project. I, very politely, declined his offer.”

“Where are you now?”

“Airport. I don't think I'll be back for Thomas' rally, but I should be back for tonight's results.”

“I can tell you're seething, so just take some time to relax a bit. Hopefully I'll see you soon. James is planning on getting back to you guys soon too.”

Alex and Angelica said goodbye and hung up. 

“I sense there's a story there?” James prompted, looking curious but frightened all at once. 

Angelica leaned forward, “When it comes to Alex, there always is...”

~~

The rally had seemed to go well, crowds still came to the stadium in the same numbers as they had previously, but Thomas had to admit that things were different without Alex and James there. 

He had his other James: James Monroe, who also worked on the campaign. Thomas liked him, but too much of him was too much. He was nice, possibly too nice, and the man's optimism bothered him. How could anyone naturally be like that? It was unsettling.

Thomas also disliked being alone on the first night of the primaries. Other people sometimes helped distract him from the vote and stress of that. The campaign always set up a room of supporters with the signs and everything set up for when the candidate comes out to a cheering crowd indicating that they'd won, or the opposite of that. The opposite wasn't that fun, but this was only Iowa. They'd have more chances to win and overtake Burr, if need be. 

That didn't mean Thomas would be okay with losing. 

No, he was a perfectionist and if he lost tonight, he'd worry about it and its negative implications for the rest of the campaign. If they lost the primary, he'd blame Iowa forever. 

That was just how it was. 

While he was lost thinking about how much he wanted tonight to be over, Monroe patted his shoulder, “Thomas, Hamilton's back.”

That was the last thing Thomas had expected. He thought Alex would've given him a heads up first, but he was thrilled nonetheless. 

The other man looked especially small and cute all wrapped up in a jacket and scarf. Alex was frowning until they made eye contact. Then he smiled wide, before noticeably trying to tone it down. Alex was probably thinking somewhere similar to what Thomas was thinking, about how no one here could know exactly their relationship. They didn't want to be too obvious about this. 

Thomas still didn't understand why it was Alex, of all people, to weasel his way into his heart. While it had, mostly, created more conflict in his life, Thomas actually thought that Alex was helping him heal from the old wound on his heart that Martha's death had inflicted. He never thought he'd want to be with anyone ever again, he had devoted himself to his career, but it seemed that life had other plans.

He wondered if life happened to him more than he actually dictated where it went.

That's life.

Alex had his arms halfway to a hug, wondering if that would be appropriate. Why not? Thomas figured, meeting Alex halfway. Thomas engulfed Alex in a hug and breathed in the citrus scent of his hair.

“We literally talked a few hours ago, I take it you missed me?” Alex smiled, pulling away. His smile slowly faded back to a disappointed look that reflected their earlier phone call. Thomas already knew about Alex's failed visit to Mr. Hemings. He could have pushed the cliché, “I told you so” line, but he had refrained partially out of fear of Alex's anger at that point. Now, it seemed, that anger had turned to disappointment.

Monroe grabbed Alex's shoulder, “We have a couple reporters asking questions, think you could give an impromptu press conference?”

“Uh, yeah. I'll be right there,” he turned back to Thomas, “Tonight's the first one, huh?”

Thomas just nodded and added, before Alex could turn away, “Don't beat yourself up over this.”

His spokesman smiled appreciatively and approached the crowd of press clamoring to get their questions answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stay tuned! I'm virtually sending everyone good, happy vibes~~


	21. chapter 21

Meanwhile~~

James and Angelica had a news channel on the radio, but they were only halfway listening. They'd been sitting there since after coffee earlier, and Sally still hadn't left her apartment. James was trying to remain alert and ready, but he'd be lying if he was to say he wasn't absolutely exhausted. There surely wouldn't be any harm in letting his eyes rest for a moment...

It wasn't even a second after James had finally allowed himself some time to rest when Angelica shrieked beside him.

“My God, what's happening?!” James flinched and attempted to stand up, only to remember that he was sitting a car and the average person couldn't stand up in a car, no matter how short you were.

Angelica patted his shoulder, “Hey, calm down. I lost a level on a stupid game on my phone, I must have just really gotten into it. Sorry for the overreaction,” Then she burst out laughing. Her hand was hiding her face like she really tried not laughing but she couldn't help herself.

James supposed it was silly. He'd fallen asleep whilst paranoid. Not the best combination.

“You looked like you had gotten a concussion!” Angelica added between giggles.

“Now you're really making me think of Thomas, laughing at my pain,” he joked, laughing himself. He spared a second to rub his head. That might hurt for a couple days before it subsided. 

“Wait!” Angelica leaned over into his space, forcing James to lean back as far as he could into his seat. “There she is! She's carrying a bag.”

Under her arm, James caught a distant glimpse of Sally looking both ways before crossing into the parking lot. They, quickly, both sat back and started fiddling with their respective phones, trying not to seem obviously watching her.

She got to a little white car and got in. 

“Looks like we're going to have to make a move for it,” James decided aloud. He'd never been that great at driving these crazy busy roads. All the zipping in and out of lanes and riding with his foot hovering over the brake was just tedious to him. Times like this made him wish Alex was with him. He was great at driving aggressively. Thomas wasn't bad at it, but he preferred to walk through town.

“Need me to drive?” Angelica suggested.

“I'll be fine, we'll just have to keep a close eye on her car and be inconspicuous,” James slowly drove out of the parking lot too and got behind Sally's car. Traffic could have been worse, but luckily it was about 1:45 on a Thursday afternoon. 

Instead of going straight into town, they followed her towards Arlington. 

“They meet up at the cemetery?” Angelica guessed. It did look like they were going that way. That made sense to James. At this time of year and time of day in the middle of the week, there would be no one there. No crowds at least.

Sure enough, James stayed back from Sally's car and watched the turn indicator blink on the left side, signally that she'd be turning into the parking lots there. James decided to pass by the turn then quickly pull in somewhere to go back. They couldn't be too obvious.

“Looks like that's where she's headed,” James spared a glance to his back seat, “Think you could grab my hat back there? I never wear it, it could work okay to throw someone off of who I am.”

Angelica leaned back and reached for the baseball cap on the floor behind his seat. It was a Virginia cavaliers hat. She set it on his head, “You're not a baseball cap guy.”

He shrugged, “It's better than nothing. Anything you could wear?”

“One step ahead of you,” She turned her bag over and old glasses and a shawl fell out, “I snatched these from my parent's house last night. I thought I might need to masquerade as someone else for this. We're here to find someone's headstone, that work for a story?”

“Sure,” James agreed stepping out of the car and bending the brim of his hat absentmindedly, “Props to you for thinking to bring those.”

She smiled and shrugged before sliding the glasses on and wrapping her shoulders in the shawl, “Now I look like my mom.”

Somehow, even wearing that hideous lacy shawl and old fashioned glasses, Angelica still looked as confident and radiant as she always did. Feeling it might be as close to appropriate as possible in their little undercover mission to pretend to go visit a relative's grave, James couldn't help but say, “Your mom must be a lovely lady then.”

“Are you already trying to get into character already?” Angelica gave him and out, but he could see her eyes sparkle with the question of whether he really meant what he'd said.

“Character? What character?” Maybe he gave himself an out too. Together they walked through the entrance, cameras ready for whatever may happen.

~~

 

“Not gonna lie, this is getting old. I didn't read the note wrong, right?” James asked for reassurance. They'd been pretending to study each headstone in countless rows row almost identical graves. Sally was sitting on a bench under a tree not too far away from where they were. If this went on much longer, it would be too suspicious. 

“Nah, he said he'd be meeting her somewhere. She could just be here to be here and then to meet him later, but that would be strange. She looks awfully nervous.”

James looked back at her. She was sitting on a bench, reading. She didn't appear immersed in the story, however, as she kept looking up from the pages and around as though waiting for someone that she wasn't totally comfortable being with. 

James looked away. Patience would reward them, certainly.

~~

As fate would have it, their reward came not too long after that. 

Farther up the paved paths twisting their way through the bright, white graves, was an older man. As he came into focus, James recognized him as Wilkinson. 

Sally frantically pushed her book into her messenger bag and stood up. James, for his part, saw Angelica give him a nod and he started pretending to photograph the area. He sent a silent prayer that their luck would hold.

Angelica rushed over to one and made a big fuss about, “finally finding it,” and “Old uncle Jerry.” She put on a good act and she continued it as Wilkinson passed by. He sent them a confused look complete with a raised eyebrow, before going along his merry way.

“We are very lucky to have found it, aren't we?” James added, trying to sound as sincere as possible. He wasn't a great actor, he didn't have the read on people that Angelica did. Discretely, he kept rolling the camera to record.

He watched through the view finder as Sally exchanged a new key to Wilkinson and he passed her money back. He saw her stumble back and nod as he raised his voice.

“People are going to find out soon enough, I can't keep this up much longer,” she said it so quietly that James almost didn't catch it. The words were mixed with tears that she was trying to choke back.

“You'll be out on the street and without a job if you even so much as say that one more time! Isn't this enough? All this funneling money through my account from the campaign and to you isn't ideal. Once the primary is over and Burr comes out on top, this whole scandal will be forgotten and Jefferson will be another obsolete senator who can't get anything to pass. Things will move on,” Wilkinson was much louder than his counterpart.

James had everything that they needed. Angelica had her arm around his and he could feel her tighten it in excitement. She hopped up and down next to him and he figured that if he was to continue taping, he might push his luck too far.

Before he could find the stop button, however, Wilkinson made eye contact with the view finder.

That wasn't good.

“Abort mission,” Angelica warned. But it was already too late. Burr's right hand man stalked towards them, all the while yelling.

James' goal was to protect the camera at all cost.

~~

Alex was speechless. Stunned. Astounded. Any number of adjectives that described being amazed. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected any kind of evidence as damning or blatant as this. Angelica released a tape? With Burr's press secretary exchanging hush money with Sally Hemings? Money for her to lie to the media about her relationship with Thomas? The Burr campaign team threatening her? It was a huge scandal and the news was just broke. Alex didn't know if they could afford to celebrate this as a victory yet or not. How could they deny what was right on tape?

Sure they'd try, but no one could deny what was right in front of their eyes.

For a moment, Alex looked behind himself to where Thomas was being briefed by Monroe. He looked incredulous, his eyes opened wider than Alex had ever seen them. Alex wouldn't say it out loud, that he had a voice in the back of his head wondering about Thomas and Sally, but he felt himself stand taller, knowing that Thomas had told him the truth from the start. 

They sure were lucky to have James and Angelica right about now. 

 

What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SERIOUSLY WHAT COULD GO WRONG? WILL BURR BE FORCED OUT? WHAT EVEN HAPPENED TO JAMES AND ANGELICA? ARE THEY ALL ACTUALLY IN THE CLEAR??? tune in next time friends


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had the majority of this written since last Thursday, but I didn't get the chance to completely finish it until this morning!

And just like that, the headlines flip flopped. No longer was the mainstream media discussing the failing Jefferson campaign, the story had changed. Now that video was being played constantly and everyone was questioning just how involved Aaron Burr himself was. Did Wilkinson go rogue, or was he acting on orders from the top?

For Wilkinson's part, besides being charged for assault and battery, the Burr campaign was shunning him. He'd come out and incriminated Burr in a recent interview, but Burr was still denying it. 

“I was stunned to see that video. Jim Wilkinson has been a close colleague of mine for quite some time now and I just...wow. His actions are unacceptable,” Burr shook his head, like he was condemning these actions. Alex paused the TV.

“Look at this guy,” Alex pointed to the screen. Thomas looked up from his phone and bit back a smile, knowing it wasn't the time.

“Yeah?” Thomas found Alex's renewed burning hatred for Aaron Burr, comical. He always got so frustrated and since he had to contain himself on screen, Thomas was usually the one he complained and vented to.

“Look at his face, he's outright LYING. It's so obvious! Why can't people see it? How did he get thirty or so percent of the vote in Iowa?”Alex crossed his arms and settled his face into a pout.

Thomas leaned forward and set his phone aside, giving Alex his moment and ignoring his urge to take a picture of Alex's near tantrum, “Consider this, he lost. He's on the decline,” Thomas took a sip of his iced coffee while waiting for a response.

“I've considered it, yes, but it's my job to worry about what he's up to. He's so...crooked?” Thomas shook his head and attempted to pull Alex's arm from his crossed arm position. Alex wouldn't budge.

“Burr has always been out for himself, that's how he is. We're doing what we can to prevent him from getting in there and we have never been in this good of a position in this whole campaign season thus far. I think you can spare some time for a break.”

Alex sighed and sat down next to Thomas, though his arms were still tightly crossed, “I hope he steps on a lego.”

“That's really strong,” Thomas said, absentmindedly wrapping his arm around Alex's shoulders. Alex felt the tension in his shoulders deflate.

Alex set his head down on Thomas' shoulder, “Multiple legos.”

The reference to the toys reminded Thomas of his daughter Patsy. He hoped that she was young enough that she wouldn't have had to hear much criticism or teasing because of the campaign. He missed her, but since her spring break was coming up, it wouldn't be long until he'd see her again. 

Alex looked up at him, “What're you thinking about?” he asked, thoughtfully.

“Patsy and how long it's been since I've seen her.”

“Don't,” Alex pointed his finger right at Thomas' chest and sat up a little bit, “ I know what you're thinking of.”

“Do tell me, I didn't know you were a psychic.”

Alex shrugged and did his stupid grin that used to get on Thomas' every last nerve but had somehow become his favorite thing, “You're thinking that you're a crap dad who's not there. I wish you wouldn't think that because I know it's not true-” and before Thomas could interrupt , Alex shot him a look that clearly told him to knock it off, “If you were a bad father, you wouldn't waste time thinking of her. Besides, I know what a bad father looks like, and it's not you.”

It was only then that Thomas had realized that they hadn't really discussed their families and he wondered if he should press on about Alex's, apparently, bad father. Alex didn't appear to be distraught, so maybe he'd healed from then, “What about your Dad?”

Alex looked up and wrinkled his nose up, “He could be dead for all I know. He left the family when I was a kid and I haven't heard from him since,” upon seeing Thomas' pitying look, he added, “It's fine. I honestly don't even think of him anymore.”

“You've always had to go it alone,” Thomas said, wondering how he could comfort Alex. He wasn't good at this, whatever THIS was. He settled on smoothing his hand over Alex's hair, not unlike petting a dog, “You don't have to anymore, if you want to put up with this mess.”

“There isn't any other mess I'd rather clean up,” Alex mumbled, sliding his arm around Thomas' neck. 

Thomas wasn't going to say anything, but Alex wasn't doing the best job of hiding the tears that pooled in his eyes.

 

~~

“James should be getting back here any minute now...” Thomas mumbled, looking around. Now that Iowa was done, they were getting the team back onto the plane to get to New Hampshire. Alex had already gone inside with the press corps to brief them before they'd be taking off. 

Apparently Monroe had heard him, “I got a text from him a couple of minutes that he'd be here in about five minutes,” the man looked at the watch encircling his wrist, “Any minute now! Meet you inside then.”

Thomas nodded towards him then thought Monroe had to be the only person he knew who still wore a watch. All you needed was your cell phone now. He was good with people though, and that was a valuable trait in this line of work.

It wasn't long before James arrived on the scene. 

Though it hadn't been all that long, Thomas felt like it had been. So much had happened that he hadn't had the chance to fill James in on it. They'd been best friends for some time now, but for the first time, he felt like they weren't up to date on each others' recent business. 

Then there were things he didn't really want to tell James.

He'd keep his mouth shut for now.

“You look like you've been in a fight,” Thomas joked, looking for a way to break the ice as he patted his friend's shoulder. 

“Well, you wouldn't be wrong,” James smiled and Thomas thought maybe things hadn't changed that much at all.

“I have a feeling there's an unbelieveable story here. You usually stay out of the fray, I'm proud James,” Thomas pretended to wipe fake tears from his eyes and James just responded by rolling his eyes skyward.

“Just warning you, it might take longer than the time it takes to get to New Hampshire...” 

“It's a long ride, I'm sure you can condense it.”

~~

Alex had finished taking questions and started to walk out of the briefing room when someone he hadn't talked to much as of late, caught his attention. 

“Alex, could I talk to you for a sec?” John Laurens, one of his closer friends who he'd been in the press corps with, wanted to talk to him? It had been awhile, hopefully he wasn't angry at Alex for not reaching out to him like old times.

“Of course, it's been forever, huh?” Alex turned around and held his clipboard close to his chest, “You want to sit down or?”

“I-,” Laurens looked scattered. It was an unnatural look on someone who was usually as sure of himself as anyone. There was something obviously concerning his friend.

“I actually have a room on board if that would work better,” Alex offered. Laurens looked up from his feet and nodded.

“That would be best, I think.”

~~

“So, I can tell something's up,” Alex prompted, pouring a couple cups of water for both himself and John.

John accepted the cup and tucked his feet beneath himself, sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the room, “I can't go into specifics. Hell, I don't know if there's ANY sort of truth to anything I've heard...”

Alex looked back and sat on a chair across from him. Laurens' words were chilling, “Rumor or?”

The journalist across from him shook his head, cringed, and shrugged simultaneously, “Not...exactly. A fellow journalist's source thinks he has something on you. I was fairly sure you're squeaky clean. Are there any skeletons lurking around your closet?”

All Alex could do was scrunch his eyebrows and forehead up and blink. Something about a candidate's spokesperson really wouldn't impact a candidate's popularity, you wouldn't think. That meant that it had to involve Thomas too and-

He couldn't help the groan that escaped his throat and the hands that covered his face then. If this was what he thought it was, then it couldn't be good. 

Alex hopped up, “How long until this story is published? Any idea?”

Laurens visibly thought for a moment. Alex figured Laurens had probably taken his response as confirmation to the things he'd heard. Then, “They'll need more sources than they have now before they can publish or come out with anything about it. I'd say you have a week, give or take.”

“I'm sorry to rush out, I need to get working. Thank you for the warning and I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch with you. Things have been so-”

“Crazy? Busy?” Laurens guessed.

“Accurate.”

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it goes fam


	23. chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy summer!! I think that it's technically still spring, but I'm out of school so it's SUMMER. That's the rule, sorry.

Just when the tide seemed to finally be turning their way, this had to happen. Alex had to warn Thomas right away. He couldn't be sure that this was what Laurens had implied, but what else could it be? The other question was, how? They'd been cautious. Not even James knew, for heaven's sake! It didn't add up. 

Rushing through the rooms, Alex found Thomas in a big meeting room at the back of the plane. Apparently there was a meeting among the campaign officials. But instead of everyone discussing game plans for future primary wins, a large TV was on and Aaron Burr was standing behind a podium, patting under his eyes with a handkerchief. Alex had to blink several times and wipe at his eyes before he believed what he was reading.

It read, simply, “Aaron Burr Drops Out of the Republican Primary”.

For a fleeting moment, Alex considered joining in the chorus of cheers that had erupted in the room. Thomas turned around from where he'd stood up in front of his chair and saw Alex, the candidate looked absolutely thrilled. His eyes had lit up and he was cheering with the rest of them. Thomas crushed Alex in a back breaking hug before pulling back and watching Alex's face, his eyes dropping to his mouth before flicking up again as he remembered the setting. Alex didn't know what to feel in that moment. Part of him wanted to shake Thomas and scream at him all their upcoming troubles, another part wanted to jump up and down and celebrate in blissful ignorance like everyone else, and the last part wanted to run away as far as possible. 

He felt that all his emotions were going to swirl up inside and explode out of him, like some kind of hurricane.

Maybe he could dismiss it as a stupid rumor? Like that magazine from before that had freaked him out? Nothing had come from that.

So when James requested the plane stop so they could order pizzas and champagne, Alex decided that for now they'd celebrate how far they'd gotten. What he didn't notice was the way Thomas watched him with a worried look, eager to get him alone and to ask him what was wrong.

~~

Since news travels so fast nowadays, Alex was out briefing the press room on the plane. That was the opening James had been looking for to speak to Thomas. Alex had been practically attached to Thomas' side ever since they had heard Burr's announcement. The way their spokesman had been acting all night was definitely unusual and more than a little troubling. He seemed to be far away mentally and he was seen continually tossing shots back with the best of them. Then, when Alex ignored a call from Angelica, James knew something was up for sure. 

He knew he had to speak with Thomas. 

James claimed the chair that Alex had only recently vacated. Most everyone on the team had left the plane to go to their hotel, since they'd finally gotten to New Hampshire and touched down, but A few stragglers remained. Thomas was talking to his legal advisor, or at least the person that James thought was his legal advisor.   
He wasn't sure if it was the impatient look that he was wearing or if she was just tired, but she excused herself to leave then, leaving James and Thomas alone at the table.

“Still here Jimmy?”

James cringed a tiny bit. Thomas used to call him “Jimmy” when James first worked for him as an aide while Thomas was in the Virginia general assembly. It only amplified how much everything had changed since then. They'd been through a lot and somehow their business relationship had turned into a strong friendship.

“Yeah, I'm still here. Couldn't very well leave you without saying something first.”

Thomas nodded and sat up straighter, rubbing his eyes and suppressing a yawn. James was tired too.

“I wanted to ask you about something though. You have to know that I don't care, really I don't. I just want to know. I feel,” James paused to search for the best words, “left in the dark. You're my friend, Thomas.”

Without missing a beat, Thomas looked right at James and nodded, “About Alex.”

“I, yes, that,” James started wondering if being left in the dark wasn't the worst thing. He'd, at least, be able to deny any knowledge of it.

His friend looked down at his feet then and sighed, “James, I know from experience that we don't decide these things for ourselves. I'm not trying to be philosophical, so if I am, it's a total accident.”

“You do get too dramatic sometimes, you've always been that way.”

“Hey, no interruptions,” Thomas laughed nervously, then continued, “I genuinely thought I hated Alex. He has that reputation for being a know-it-all, rammy, arrogant, loud mouth.”

James didn't interrupt to tell Thomas that Alex and him shared a handful of those traits, though he knew it was true.

“All those things are true, but when you're on the same team, they start to become more of a positive and how can you ask someone to explain why you love somebody?”

It was strange because James already knew that, but hearing it made it real. He couldn't entertain any of those, “maybe not” thoughts anymore. He could see Thomas struggle with the feelings and, though he'd never expected this, he still wished he could help Thomas feel better about his feelings. 

There was also the aspect that, as far as Thomas' campaign went, it was probably best to keep things under wraps. Who knew how his political future would look if he came out to the world. And it would literally be the world. America was, more than likely, too bigoted to elect a gay president. Especially a gay, republican president. 

Now James understood why Thomas would feel so torn. This was more complicated than meets the eye.

“Thomas, your secret's safe with me,” and James picked up his champagne flute, “Here's to the end of the republican primary, and to the start of part two!”

Thomas clinked his glass against James' in a toast.

~~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter~~


	24. chap 24: I'm back!! and I updated!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOWI'MUPDATINGHOLYCRAPIT'SBEENMONTHS
> 
> I actually had to reread through my own fanfic because I was having trouble remembering the plot and events :P hopefully this feels in character enough. It's my first go at it again so patience young padawans

With no democratic or republican primary challengers left, the campaign had transformed right into general election mode. Both the Adams and Jefferson campaigns were in full force, securing as many endorsements and campaign donations as possible. Monroe was working on getting a get out the vote movement mobilized for potential voters and registration drives leading up to November. Madison was happy because Angelica was working for Jefferson's campaign too. Alex could see how they felt about each other and it made him hope beyond hope that Thomas and him didn't act like that because then everyone would be able to see through them.

Luckily for them, the Burr/Hemings scandal had actually been beneficial for the Jefferson campaign. Thomas had never wavered from his side of the story and the polls measuring trust had risen substantially for the candidate after he was proven correct, which contrasted greatly from Adams' poll results. That came along with being the incumbent though.

With all the good news circulating lately, Alex had every reason to be on cloud 9. But after Laurens' warning, that was all he could think of. Over and over in his head, he turned over what his friend had told him. It had been more than a week and no story had come out. They were in the clear, right? 

“Penny for your thoughts?” 

Alex whipped his head around. His wide eyes found Thomas. Thomas himself had become a reminder of his fear of being found out. It would ruin everything and it would be Alex's fault. Thomas was better off without him...Their relationship was a ticking time bomb ready to go off at any moment. What if their relationship humiliated Patsy? Oh, Alex would never forgive himself...

He felt Thomas squeeze his hand. It brought him back to his surroundings. He looked around and took note of where he was to ground himself. He was sitting next to Thomas. They were on their plane and heading to Virginia to a rally that Thomas had been looking forward to. The seat was comfortable and heated, like the elite that Thomas was. Alex smiled despite himself.

“I can't help but feel like I'm watching you go through a personal crisis in your head. Alexander, are you okay?” Thomas interrupted him.

“I'm okay,” Alex nodded. 

“We both know that wasn't convincing,” Thomas raised his eyebrows, “If something's bothering you, I want to know so I can help you,” he said it softly.

Thomas and Alex both knew what was left unsaid and Alex's heart melted. Sometimes he forgot that Thomas was far from perfect when he said things like this. 

Alex started to tell him what he was nervous about when the door opened. It was James. When he looked over to them, and Thomas and Alex instinctively shrank back from each other and Alex could feel his heart rate rise.

James put both of his hands up in the air as a gesture of surrender, “Am I interrupting something?”

“Nope, no, not at all. What's up?” Thomas asked quickly, not helping to diffuse the awkwardness of the situation in the least. 

“...okay. Um,” James scratched his head and looked down towards his feet on the ground, “I was only dropping in to tell you that we'll be landing in Dulles in about ten minutes. We'll drive down to Charlottesville upon arriving. Sound good?”

Thomas flipped his hand, “Yeah, that works.”

“Cool. And Alex,” he turned to Alex, “the press will be expecting you in a couple.”

“Right!” Alex fumbled for his own clipboard so he could go over what he was going to say, “I'll be right out.”

James slowly backed up to the doorway. He looked from Thomas to Alex and could see that there was something up, “Take your time,” he mumbled, then shut the door behind himself with a click.

For once, Alex didn't know what to say. Thomas sighed, “It bothers me that you're keeping this to yourself.”

“I,” Alex looked back to the door, “I'll tell you when we can be somewhere more private, is that okay?”

Judging by Thomas' face, that worried him. It was obviously about the relationship between them that was worrying Alex, otherwise there would be no reason to talk somewhere private, “That's okay, but I'm holding you to that. We'll face any problems head on, right? Besides, we did that with Burr, right?”

Alex tried to smile and let Thomas' words comfort him into believing that things would be fine. 

But...

Was Burr really completely dealt with? He wasn't too sure. They could hope that was the last of him they'd seen, but knowing someone as ambitious as Burr...the chance was slim that he'd be staying out of the fray.

~~

Alex walked out of Thomas' back room on the plane and to the press area for the briefing, clipboard in hand. He was immediately greeted by a chorus of questions shouted his way. Alex held his arms up and gave his best settle down gesture. For the most part, it got quieter. He cleared his throat, “Good morning all. As a little update, we'll be landing in Dulles soon where we'll be heading down to Charlottesville for the rally at the university there. We expect a large crowd because it's Thomas' home state and we enjoy a lot of support there. That's all the news I have for you. I'll take a few questions.”

Usually, Alex didn't pick favorites. If he did, he'd just call on Laurens first everytime. He didn't though, and he called on a rather goofy looking man who stood close to a window, “Yes?”

“Does Jefferson snore?”

Alex had no idea how long he stood there, blinking and speechless. After he regained his composure, he thought he must have looked like a statue standing there, “I'm sorry, what was that?”

“I asked you if Mr. Jefferson snores? You ought to know, you're with him 24/7.”  
It was obvious that the room had taken on a tense feeling all throughout. People's eyes had widened and some still had their mouths dropped open out of shock. Still, others seemed to try to hold in a chuckle.

At first Alex was embarrassed. Now he was pissed.

Who was this reporter anyway? Alex didn't recognize him.

Finally, he stood up straighter and set his clipboard down, not particularly worried about the consequences of what he might say, “I don't know what you're trying to pull here,” he pointed at the reporter, “but it's incredibly telling that you're just fishing for some sensationalist story where there is none. I work on Mr. Jefferson's campaign and for that reason it makes sense for me to spend a lot of time with him. I don't see a problem with that and I don't understand where this question has even come from. So, kind sir, screw off.”

With that, he stomped out of the silent and shocked room and threw his clipboard to the ground. 

~~

Angelica was the first to pull, forcibly, Alex aside. She grasped his forearms, trying to make sure her friend wouldn't rush off, “Alex, what in the world were you THINKING? That was way out of bounds.”

Alex tried pulling out of her hold, but failing, “Yeah, well, his question was out of bounds too so I think I'm justified.”

With a groan, Angelica let him go, “You have only perpetuated this issue. If you'd answered with a light laugh or made a joke and brushed it off, this wouldn't have been so bad. But now there will be people questioning whether you should keep your job in the campaign. Not to mention what everyone's going to assume about you and Jefferson.”

Sure, Alex knew that, but he was still angry and scared. 

 

When he didn't say anything, she pressed on, “Is there something between you and-”

“Please, just, stop,” Alex insisted, “Not you too.”

“I'm your friend, I have some right to know.”

Alex could feel the plane underneath him begin to slow and lower. He grabbed hold of a chair to right himself. Angelica did the same, “Fine,” she started, “It's nobody's business, I get that.”

“I need to get away for a bit. I've ruined everything,” Alex lowered his head into his hands, “I only meant to help Thomas and look what I've done now.”

He felt her put her hand on his shoulder and pat it, “Don't be so hard on yourself. We'll prepare a statement and try to put this behind us. This campaign has already gotten through plenty of crap. There will be more, guaranteed.”

Alex didn't tell Angelica that this would be a lot trickier to navigate since there's actual truth to the reporter's allegation. He kept that to himself.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just had to start on the next chapter after finishing the last one. woops.
> 
> Consider it a bonus!!

Thomas was thrilled to be in Virginia. Everything felt better at home and, to Thomas, the whole of Virginia was his home. These were his people. Patsy was here. Monticello was here. The Shenandoah was here. The Ocean was here, if you drove to the coast. There was nothing Virginia didn't have.

And that included high taxes.

As great as his surroundings made him feel, Alexander's...outburst was all that anyone could talk about. James was at a complete loss and Thomas hadn't seen his campaign adviser so frustrated. They watched the news coverage of the briefing on every channel to see what people were saying. Angelica scrolled through her twitter and read people's comments. Monroe was alerting the volunteers on the ground as to what their new message should be. 

As for Thomas, he just wished that Alexander would have had time to talk to him earlier. It was apparent that there was something that scared him and when Alexander was scared, sometimes he lashed out. Thomas knew that James wanted to propose demoting Alex, but so far, he hadn't mentioned it to Thomas. Probably because he knew what Thomas would say to that: A big, fat NO.

James would tell him that your spokesperson should be someone who could keep their cool and that Alexander had always struggled with that and it had only been a matter of time before something set him off. Thomas didn't care. There would always be a place for Alex in the campaign, no matter what stupid things he did, and he did, periodically, do stupid things. 

“Yo, James,” Angelica handed her phone to James and he looked closely at it before his face contorted into a big frown.

“What?” Thomas asked. Sometimes it seemed like Angelica and James were too busy speaking the same language in their own world to inform him of what they were up to.

James and Angelica shared a concerned look before James handed Thomas Angelica's cell phone. He looked down at the screen. It was an article about the reporter who'd grilled Alex earlier. Thomas skimmed the article. The reporter's name was John Calhoun and he worked for a new organization that was far right, and far bigoted. He was especially against LGBTQ rights.

That was a great sign. Not.

“Should we cancel your rally?” James asked, quietly.

“We're already at the venue, for one. It would look bad if I didn't go through with it. Though, it should probably be rewritten,” Thomas mused. They were already at the university setting up for people to sit at the rally that night. Mentioning writing did make Thomas feel bad. Alex always looked over his speeches and changed things around. He'd find ways to make anything sound better. Alex had a gift for writing, that was for sure. But now he wasn't here. He'd gone back to his apartment in Washington to cool off without any warning. Alex had only sent Thomas a text, followed by an apology for how he acted.

Thomas felt a pang of pain in his chest. He'd campaigned without Alex before, but that was then. Now things had changed and Alex's absence physically pained him. 

“I can have Clinton look at your speech,” James nodded. Then he cleared his throat, “Maybe you or Angelica should check up on Alex? Give him a call and make sure he's alright?”

Before Thomas could respond, Angelica interjected, “Jefferson should.”

She still referred to him icily as “Jefferson” but that was a step in the right direction. Years ago she had written an series of articles calling him out for some legislation he was the head of passing in the Senate. 

Thomas nodded and grabbed his cell phone. Both his campaign advisers left the room.

~~

Alex sat at the foot of his bed in his apartment. He hadn't been back here in so long, but it didn't feel like home. It felt cold and isolated. But he was okay with that for now. The curtains were drawn and his TV was off. He sat alone in the dark having his own private pity party. 

He only wished his apartment wasn't in this blasted city. Washington was too political and he wanted nothing to do with that for a while. Maybe in his next life he could live peacefully. Thomas spoke highly of rural Virginia and the peace that he finds there. That's what Alex wanted. He wanted to live in his own Monticello with Thomas and Patsy, away from the rest of the world. 

The buzz of his phone sounded and Alex groaned. He didn't want to talk to anyone now. Despite that, he still flipped it over and looked to see who it was. 

Thomas.

He owed Thomas after what had happened and, really, he wanted to talk to him. He picked it up, “Thomas.”

Thomas sounded worried, “Alexander? Are you okay?”

“I'm...okay. I just,” Alex grabbed his hair in frustration, “I hope you aren't mad. I never meant to make the campaign look bad,” he pulled his knees up to his chest and leaned his chin onto his knees.

“You haven't ruined anything Alex. Sure, it isn't the best thing, but we need you,” pause, “I need you.”

“I miss you,” Alex mumbled feeling farther from Thomas than he had been in months.

“I miss you too. We need you back here, you know.”

“Do you really? I think you all did fine without me before.”

“Looking back on it, everything improved with your help,” then Thomas added, “Also, what was it you started to say earlier? I know there's something more to all this.”

“I just hate to ruin all of this for you,” Alex vented. He stuck his legs back out.

“Ruin what?”

“Everything. Just me being involved with you will, inevitably, lead to trouble. You'd be far better off without me around. I'm like your little scandal that could go off at any moment. You'd be best off to tell me that we need to go our separate ways and stay as far away from each other as we can. Realistically, we'll never work.”

“That's what this has been about? Then Calhoun set you off by stepping too close to it for comfort, oh. That makes sense. But don't be an idiot. In the end, Alex, I want to make a better future for this country but...call me selfish, but I can't do that at the expense of you. I'm seriously close to just telling everybody. Saying, 'screw it' and just coming out to the whole country and world,” Thomas was close to yelling.

Alex laughed and it almost held a maniacal quality to it. He wiped tears from laughing from his eyes, “God, I love you Thomas,” Then Alex held his breath after realizing what he'd said.

It just came out of him. It felt like the right thing to say. 

“I love you too,” It sounded so easy and natural, “Now are you coming back or do I have to drive up there and drag you?”

“No dragging necessary. I can be there tonight. It won't be til after your rally though,” Alex stood up and slid his shoes on and searched around for a jacket.

“That's no biggie. Just be here. That's all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully I won't take too long to upload, but my writer's block has been getting in my way lately. I plan on maybe outlining what I want to do for this fic just so I have a plan. I usually kind of wing it and try tying everything together in the end, but that's probably not the best way.


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